Class 




COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 



* 




JAMES W. SMITH 



A Controversy Between 
Truth and Falsehood 



On the Train of Life 



By James W. Smith 

Decatur, Mississippi. 



FIRST EDITION 

J U l_V J2S, 1910 



O. E. OUNNlNQHAM, PRINT, P*KWTON, MIS8. 



oh 



Copyrighted WO 
By James Washington Smith 



©CU268822 



INTRODUCTORY CR PREFACE 



The only thought or motive I had in writing 
this little book was to draw out the idea of the 
negligence of so many of our people seemingly 
losing sight of the fact that the safety of our in- 
stitutions was based on the great fundamental 
principles of truth and honesty to each other, and 
the prime intention of them is to measure equal 
justice to all concerned. And the great necessity 
of those principles being perpetuated is, and 
should be, of the greatest concern to all that love 
the best interest of their country. 

And in this age of prosperity, we should not 
lose sight of the fact that, in the truth and tne 
powers of justice, the safety of ourselves, our 
homes, our neighbors, our community and na- 
tion rests, and as a people let us profit by the mis- 
takes of others, who in the time and seasons of 
plenty, forget the more important things that 
they left undone, which was losing sight of the 
main object in view, that is to perpetuate the 
truth and wisdom of the ruling and governing of 
their offspring or posterity in such a way as to 
let them become slack in the discipline of their 
institutions. At such times when the country is 
most prosperous there is the greatest danger of 
false impressions setting up in place of the real 
truth. 



2 

If this little book should be the means of draw- 
ing in the wanderings of the mind of just one 
young man or young woman (or old either) and 
cause them to stop and think, turn and live a 
useful life, I shall feel that I have been greatly 
rewarded for my time that has been devoted in 
writing it. 

In order that you may get the idea from the 
first, you will consider yourself the train of life, 
Mr. Birth your birth, Mr. Hearing your hearing, 
Mr. Mind your mind, Mr. Thought your thought, 
Mr. Conscience is your conscience, Mr. Heart is 
your heart, and Mr. Caution is your father, moth- 
er or true friends. Mr. Knowledge and Mr. Wis- 
dom are anybody that teaches you, and Mr. 
Truth is that being or thing that is unchangeable 
or indestructable and a never-failing help, by 
whose use we will forever be on the right side, 
and the truth is so arranged that the Bible read- 
ers can place as the Saviour, and if you will no- 
tice there are many references to the Bible 
though not using the words of the Bible or any 
other book, there not being a word borrowed from 
any other book or person in the entire book. It 
goes forth to you entirely on its merits, and the 
writer only asks that you study well its contents 
before you cast it entirely away. 

JAMES WASHINGTON SMITH. 

Decatur, Little Rock, Newton County, Miss., 
R. F. D. No. 3. 



TO THE READER 



Kind Reader: I wish to say that after you 
have read this little book through, and you feel 
that you have been interested or benefitted to 
the extent that you wish the ideas contained in 
this little book more definitely explained, you 
will please write me a few lines, and so state 
your approval, I will endeavor to take the same 
subject and enlarge the work, and do my utmost 
to probe down in every calling of life, and get 
as near as possible to the very nature of the hu- 
man family drawn out into action, in our every 
transaction of life, as I possibly can. 

And if this short sketch on our human ways 
and action in life, entirely on its merits, appeals 
to you as being worthy of a place in your home, 
I most earnestly request each and every reader 
of this little book to write me a personal letter 
and tell me your opinion of it, and also, whether 
you desire to see the work enlarged and treated 
more fully on each character, and subject men- 
tioned in this little book. 

JAMES WASHINGTON SMITH. 
Decatur, Miss., R. F. D. No. 3. 



NOTICE 



1. This book will be sent to any address in 
the United States on receipt of price, 75 cents. 

2. Or in clubs of five, at 75 cents each, and 
one book free 

3. Special wholesale price to News-dealers 
and book stores. 

4. Same to all persons who wish to order in 
lots of six dozen or more. 

5. To Orphan Homes, special price on appli- 
cation. 

6. Reliable agents wanted everywhere in the 
United States. 



CHAPTER I. 



When I started on the train of life, I got my 
ticket at the first station on the road called 
Babyhood (station) or the town of Infancy, and 
that being some time ago, I don't remember very 
much about it, but can remember about the time 
I was leaving there for the next station, which 
was called Childhood (station). I got in posses- 
sion of some impression which Mr. Hearing had 
given to Mr. Mind, for my instruction on the 
journey, and as all that kind of baggage was 
free of cost to me on the train of life, I did not 
object to how much I got, or what kind it was, 
and proceeded to take all I could get. But by 
the time I had arived at the next station (Child- 
hood) I formed several acquaintances and among 
them was a Mr. Teller, and he told me that while 
we were waiting at the station that there was 
any amount of impressions, like I already had, 
and some I did not have, and advised me to take 
none that looked dingy, as I would not need all 
that I might get, but Mr. Hearer who carried the 
news, kept giving them to Mr. Mind for me all 
the time we were there. Some time during my 
stay at that station I was introduced to a Mr. 
Caution, who told me Mr. Teller had informed 
him that I had quite a lot of impressions on hand, 
and that there were so many accumulating on 



6 

our train of life that there had been an inspector 
appointed by the name of Mr. Truth, and on in- 
vestigation he was finding some bad impressions 
that were faulty, and would have to be thrown 
over board or be paid for. During the stay in 
the town of Childhood, I continued to meet Mr. 
Caution, but not realizing any material differ- 
ence in the baggage I was getting up, I did not 
pay much attention to it, but leaving the town of 
Childhood, and on the way to Boyhood, the next 
and third station on the road, I learned that Mr. 
Mind had been promoted to the office of Conduc- 
tor on the train (of life) and by the time and 
even before we reached the next station, I saw 
Mr. Mind and Mr. Truth, whom I had already 
learned was to be the inspector of the baggage 
(impressions), were very often in consultation, 
and on my arrival at the town of Boyhood, I also 
met Mr. Falsehood, and after learning more 
about him I found that he had lived in that town, 
and he seemed to be such a plausible and handy 
fellow, always ready to volunteer his services, 
and making himself so handy to Mr. Mind, the 
conductor, and so frequent among the passen- 
gers, I began to notice him closer, and apparent- 
ly he seemed all right, until one day I saw him 
and Mr. Mind seemingly in a very pleasant con- 
versation. I noticed Mr. Truth was standing 
close by and seemed to be listening to the conver- 
sation also, and during the time Mr. Falsehood 
was getting very serious and so was Mr. Mind — 



7 

so much so that I heard him say he would see 
Mr. Thought, a gentleman up to that time I had 
not had much acquaintance with. But at this 
juncture Mr. Truth stepped up in front of Mr. 
Falsehood, and to my utter surprise I saw Mr. 
Falsehood wilt, and look as if he wanted to sneak 
off, but Mr. Truth looked as pleasant as ever and 
spoke to Mr. Mind in a sweet gentle voice, so 
much so that I thought all would be pleasant 
again, as it was when Mr. Falsehood first com- 
menced talking to Mr. Mind. But not so, Mr. 
Falsehood only looked the more sneaking and 
cowed down, and soon he commenced trembling 
and looked as though he would fall but finally 
turned and went walking off. Mr. Truth went 
on to tell Mr. Mind that he had been with him 
before Mr. Falsehood ever got on his train and 
besides he went on to tell Mr. Mind, that he had 
known Mr. Falsehood, from birth, and that he 
was a fraud and a cheat, and to his personal 
knowledge he would steal not only money, but 
goods of any kind or character, and if possible 
all the baggage he had (his impressions) that 
would do him any good. At least even that 
which he would have to use on his journey, if 
he ever got to the place he was expecting to 
reach. By this time Mr. Mind had become very 
much interested and was looking at Mr. Truth 
very seriously, when Mr. Thought stepped up 
and took hold of Mr. Mind, thinking there might 
be something wrong with him. And it was there 



8 

I learned that Mr. Thought was a kinsman of 
Mr. Mind, and always with him, and I noticed 
that he paid no attention to Mr. Truth at all, but 
kept holding on to Mr. Mind. I looked and saw 
another gentleman coming from the other side 
from Mr. Truth as though he wanted to say 
something to Mr. Mind or Mr. Thought one, 
and did not want Mr. Truth to hear it, though 
Mr. Truth was standing right there. But just 
at this time a stranger to me walked up and Mr. 
Truth looked at him and commenced smiling, as 
did the stranger, and when he was near by Mr. 
Truth spoke to him and called him Mr. Con- 
science. Mr. Conscience also spoke to him and to 
Mr. Mind, as pleasantly as he did to Mr. Truth and 
Mr. Mind spoke to Mr. Conscience, but still had 
that serious look of unpleasantness on his face. 
I noticed that Mr. Conscience kept his eye on the 
fellow that had come up on the other side from 
Mr. Truth, as though he wanted to speak to Mr. 
Mind, and not let Mr. Truth hear what he had 
to say, and Mr. Conscience then also took hold 
of Mr. Mind, and asked him if he had been keep- 
ing company with that fellow Falsehood, that 
was standing there. Just as Mr. Conscience 
called his name, he went walking off, and I 
looked at him more particularly then to see if 
he favored the Falsehood, that Mr. Truth had 
just been talking to Mr. Mind about. And be- 
hold it was the same man, but he had been off and 
changed his clothes. Then Mr. Conscience went 



9 

on to tell Mr. Mind that he was an officer on the 
train of life, on which he (Mr. Mind) was conduc- 
tor, and if he attempted to keep company or let 
such fellows as that man Falsehood have any- 
thing to do with his train that he (Mr. Con- 
science), would certainly chastize him every time 
he heard of his being with him, or especially ev- 
ery time he heard of him having anything to do 
with his words, acts, or deeds in any way. He 
also told Mr. Mind that he (Mr. Conscience) was 
supposed to know every thing that went on in 
connection with the train of life. Then Mr. 
Truth spoke and told Mr. Mind that he would 
have to be very careful or that man Falsehood 
would give him no little trouble — that he had 
caused many a man to lose his job, and repeated 
that he had known him from birth, and also 
called his attention to the fact that he went off 
and changed his clothes and returned in another 
dress with the hopes of getting him off from him. 
Mr. Truth also told him that this was not the 
first time but thousand and millions of times he 
had seen him do that way, and Mr. Truth went 
on to tell Mr. Mind that he had met Falsehood, in 
every station of life, among all kinds of people, 
and in all kinds of institutions; that he had even 
met him in the church, and in every conceivable 
shape and dress, and that many times he had to 
take hold of him and pull his robes off to con- 
vince people he had gotten in with, that he was 
really the man Falsehood. Mr. Truth also told 



10 

Mr. Mind, that Falsehood was a member of a 
large family and that some of them were wealthy 
some of them were not, but all of them had more 
or less influence, until they were found out, and 
while Mr- Truth was talking to Mr. Mind he 
called over several of Mr. Falsehood's kinsmen's 
names. He (Mr. Conscience) said that False- 
hood had several brothers. One of them was 
named Thief, another was named Robber, anoth- 
er one named Extortion, and another one named 
Drunkard, and still another one named Whore- 
monger, and he said the whole family had proved 
so bad that even Falsehood's sisters had given 
him a great deal of trouble — so much so, that he 
had many times been forced to put them in pris- 
on, and expose them in many different ways. At 
this point I had become very much interested, 
seeing what I had on the trip, up to this time, 
and being with Mr. Hearing all the time. He 
had told me a great deal and I enjoyed his com- 
pany better than any one I had met, except Mr. 
Mind. I liked him and stayed with him all the 
time, only when I was asleep, and when I once 
got acquainted with Mr. Thought I liked him 
splendid, though I did not see much of him until 
I arrived at the town of Boyhood. 

In getting ready to leave that station on my 
journey to Manhood station, the next and fourth 
station on the road, called by a great many the 
town of Twenty-one, Mr. Thought told me that 
from the town of Boyhood, where we were then, 



11 

to Manhood, was the longest distance on the 
road. But traveling along seeing the sights and 
up's and down's of the road, the train running 
at a very slow speed, or Mr. Thought said it was 
slow, it looked as though we would never get to 
the next station (Manhood) at all. At any rate 
we kept going all the time, and in traveling along 
the conductor, Mr. Mind, was busy looking after 
the affairs of the train (of life) as were all the 
officers on board. 

As I had been informed before, the baggage 
was to be inspected, and from what I could see, 
and what Mr. Hearing was having to say, there 
was a great deal of it that would have to be 
thrown off before, or at least when we got to the 
next station. Mr. Teller said that some of it was 
so bad that it was going to cost somebody some- 
thing. It w 7 as so bad that Mr. Truth, the in- 
spector, said that if carried too long on the train 
it would rust and canker, and so many of those 
bad impressions, the baggage, being piled up in 
a pile, that it would become infected with germs 
of different kinds, so small you could hardly see 
them at first, but he said they would thrive and 
grow under almost any circumstances, and when 
permitted to do so they were inclined to mature 
faster when there were several of them together 

Mr. Truth went on to describe them pretty 
thoroughly, and said that in growing out of one 
stage into another, they would form a kind of 
slime, that was inclined to cement itself together, 



12 

that after a certain length of time there was dan- 
ger of them becoming of an explosive nature 
Mr. Truth went on to state, that in this composi- 
tion the germ was formed in its last stage, and up 
to this time he had not given the germs any 
name, but he said that they were jus* as hardy 
and vigorous in this and the last stage, and even 
more so than at any other time, and with favora- 
ble circumstances would soon commence hatch- 
ing out into little beings commonly called acts 
or deeds, though some times very small, but in- 
variably every time one hatched it caused an ex- 
plosion of the slime. Mr. Truth said that after 
they were hatched out, there was a kind of food 
grown on this slime, or larvae, that was called in- 
dulgence, or practice, if they could get enough of 
it that it would cause them to grow to such a 
large size sooner or later, that they would have 
so much power they could and would wreck the 
whole train of life, and he said that he had been 
running on the train of life ever since the road 
was built and was even looking on while the road 
was in building, and even before. He was pres- 
ent and heard all the plans for its building, and 
what kind of trains would run over it. When fin- 
ished was on the first train that ran over the road, 
and had been on every one since then, (though 
not as active and familiar with some of the pas- 
sengers as he was with others) but he knew the 
train and the road, and said there was not a 
place on the road from Boyhood station to the 



13 

end of the line, but that once those little germs 
got their start in the baggage (impressions) and 
afterwards formed into those beings called Acts 
or Deeds, and fed on indulgence or practice. 
They had caused a wreck in places too numerous 
to mention and when they had wrecked the whole 
train of life and therefore they must be put off. 
He said the sooner they were thrown overboard 
the better it was. After hearing him give such 
a painstaking description of them and wondering 
how it was he had never been destroyed, I was 
moved to ask him a question, and did so. I asked 
him if he had never got hurt in any of the wrecks, 
he had been on so many trains, and seen so many 
wrecks. He looked at me as though I was crazy, 
but answered the question and said, O, no, he 
always knew when there was going to be a wreck 
by the sound of those explosions, and being the 
inspector he handled the baggage so much he 
could tell the bad ones from the good. While he 
was occasionally passing through every coach he 
had a special car and could uncouple it from the 
balance of the train at any time, and always did 
that when the engineer did not obey his orders, 
and Mr. Truth went on to say that oftentimes 
they went off and left him and he would be left 
behind a long time, but sooner or later they 
would get over loaded with baggage and as he 
was the only living inspector they would get 
scared and back back, and as he had a self-acting 
coupler to his car it always hitched on, and he 



14 

said as everybody admits the fact that the train of 
life never did reach the end of the line without 
Mr. Truth being on board, but {scores of them 
have run into the suburbs of the city where 
the last station is, but they were never ad- 
mitted into the station without his presence, 
(Mr. Truth), for the grand reason that the 
high judge, of the supreme court, of last ap- 
peals, has given over the keys to Mr. Truth, 
and Mr. Truth added that he had seen many 
millions of people perish on the outside of 
the station because they had fallen out with him 
on the road, and refused to recognize him or to 
be confined to his words, but at the end of the 
line (death) his words are verified. While we 
may be deluded and be mislead while on the train 
of life (while we live in the world) but the one 
fact knowing we must die, is the all sufficient 
proof that the truth will overtake us in the end. 



CHAPTER II. 



Then Mr. Thought said to the passengers on 
the journey from Boyhood station, or the town 
of Infancy, as some call it, we have begun to 
learn a great deal more about the ways of trav- 
eling. On our arrival in the town of Boyhood, 
and the experiences while going through the 
town, gives us a better idea of the trip, and also 
gives us a better idea of the management at the 
next station, called Manhood. As you have al- 
ready noted we have met and formed several ac- 
quaintances and know by this time some of the 
officers of the train, Mr. Mind, the conductor, 
and Mr. Truth, the baggage inspector, and we 
have begun to learn that there are some rules 
and regulations that we are requested to conform 
to if we get along well with the officers and pas- 
sengers generally, and especially after we get to 
the next station, which is Manhood, or the town 
of Twenty-one. All this we did not know when 
we started on the trip, but after I learned that 
Mr. Mind was the conductor on the train and 
Mr. Truth was the inspector of the baggage, and 
had heard Mr. Conscience say he was an officer 
of the road, and heard him tell Mr. Mind that 
he would chastize or punish him for certain 
things if he did them, I was more concerned than 
I had been, and in company with Mr. Thought 



1(3 

I asked him what all this meant any way. He 
told me in part, but he said he was acting as chief 
porter on the train (of life) and he was mixed up 
with the officers of the road and the manager 
and all the passengers, and had more or less deal- 
ings with all of them, and he said some of the of- 
ficers did not agree, so I had better go to Mr, 
Wisdom, who was chief of the bureau for infor- 
mation — that he worked for one the same as 
another. He said Mr. Falsehood and Mr. Truth 
and some of the other officers were always at 
variance, and they all used him, and he worked 
for one the same as the other, and I had better go 
to Mr. Wisdom. As I knew of the differences be- 
tween Mr. Truth and Mr. Falsehood, I asked him 
what about their differences any way, and he 
told me that Mr. Wisdom would also tell me 
about that too. And as Mr. Mind and Mr. 
Thought used the same office and relatives be- 
sides, and Mr. Mind, the conductor, being present 
I asked him if he knew, and he said he was like 
the porter in that respect, that he was mixed up 
with everybody on board, and said I had beter 
ask Mr. Wisdom, that he could tell me all about 
it. But not knowing any thing about Mr. Wis- 
dom, up to that time, I suggested that he might 
be like them, and I asked which side he was 
on — Mr Falsehood's or Mr. Truth's — and the an- 
swer was that he was not on either side, but as 
to that matter Mr. Wisdom and every body else 
knew that Mr. Truth was right, but that Mr. 



17 

Wisdom was independent, and all hands but Mr, 
Truth had to go to him for information, or to 
some of his agents about every thing. Then I 
asked if Mr. Wisdom, furnished everybody that 
went to him, and the answer was that he did to 
a certain extent, but that some wanted to know 
more than others, and that he had an inexhaus- 
table supply of it, and he would furnish them 
with all they could carry- Some had a better op- 
portunity than others to get to him though, and 
Mr. Thought spoke and said it was supposed by 
a great many that Mr. Wisdom was a little par- 
tial to some, and it really looked that way. Then 
I asked the direct question, if Mr. Truth and Mr. 
Falsehood were to go to Mr. Wisdom at the same 
time, together, or at different times, separately, 
would he (Mr. Wisdom) give them each all the 
information they wanted. Mr. Conscience being 
present at this time, answered the question and 
said he certainly would; that he was well ac- 
quainted with Mr. Wisdom, and worked in his 
office, and knew all about the situation, and in- 
vited me to it, and said that he acted as dictator 
when he was in, but in some cases he had gone 
out after he was fully and thoroughly convinced 
that the person would not adhere to his advice, 
though he said he used every effort to persuade 
and coax them, and often rebuked them severely 
and never left them as long as there was a shad- 
ow of hope for them. Seeing that he was a man 
of more than ordinary importance, I conferred 



18 

with him a great deal, and asked him if he would 
go with me to the office of Mr. Wisdom, and he 
said he would and on my arrival at the office I 
found the door wide open and was informed that 
it stayed open day and night, and was never -shut 
at all. Not only that, all sorts of instructions 
could be had, some good, some bad, but I noticed 
that there were several different kinds of agents 
dealing them out, some of them good and some 
bad, and also noticed that everybody was admon- 
ished to search for Mr. Wisdom, and they could 
approach his in the same way, but after seeing 
and conversing with him I found there were two 
ways of going out, after you are instructed even 
by Mr. Wisdom, that there were two doors and 
each one of these doors had a door-keeper. While 
at the office I met Mr. Caution, and I asked him 
why there were two doors to go out at, and why 
they had a door-keeper, and he said that was part 
of his business to point out. Mr. Caution said 
that was a very noted place and everybody was 
admonished to search for wisdom and there was 
no danger of getting lost, to start from any stage 
of life or any point of the world to hunt that 
place. He said the whole train of life could run 
right to it or they could switch off, and surround 
it, if they preferred, but he said when they went 
to leave there, after they had gotten their infor- 
mation or instructions, there were certain ways 
to go from there, and Mr. Caution said Mr. Wis- 
dom knew every path that led out to every nook 



19 

and corner of the earth. He said that when Mr. 
Wisdom, himself, went out to take a walk, he al- 
ways went out on the peaceful path, which is 
the only safe and profitable way, and he said they 
were called the ways of peace, and Mr. Con- 
science said that was the way he always dictated 
(pointing to a certain door.) He said that Mr* 
Truth, would never go any other way — but he 
being inspector of all the baggage, he had to be 
at all the courts of justice, and at church, and in 
fact anywhere inspection was needed, and he said 
under the proper influence, with the proper in- 
struction, Mr. Mind and Mr. Thought were in- 
clined to want to go that way, but would go any 
way they were directed. I was still interested 
in those two doors, and two ways to get out of 
Mr. Wisdom's office. So I asked Mr. Conscience 
why they were there. He said, that the names 
of the door-keepers, indicated the way, and asked 
me if I did not notice the door he was pointing 
at when he was telling me about the way Mr. 
Wisdom himself went. He said Mr. Right, kept 
that door, and never had failed to open up a 
passage if any obstruction was in the way. 
Then Mr. Truth spoke and said there were 
always enough messengers going in that direc- 
tion (on the ways of peace) to keep me on the 
right way, and by going this way, I could get 
out and take a walk any time the train of 
life was lying over for any purpose and al- 
ways get back on time, though I might be in- 



20 

formed by Mr. Thought, as he is very quick mo- 
tioned at times, that I would get left. But if you 
will call on Mr. Mind, the conductor, he will keep 
you posted on that, for he knows all the baggage 
that can safely be carried on the train of life will 
have to go to Mr. Wisdom's office to be stamped 
before you can have it rechecked at the next sta- 
tion, which is Manhood, (station). While Mr. 
Conscience makes his headquarters at Mr. Wis- 
dom's office, and unless you abuse him until it is 
past all endurance to bear it, he is always ready 
to serve you, but he never acts until Mr. Truth 
has passed on your baggage (impressions). Then 
if you refuse to obey his decision you may look 
for chastisement. Mr. Truth is always ready to 
serve you in every need and never fails to win in 
every case, though sometimes he is delayed, 
sometimes for one reason and sometimes another. 
A great many times he has no conveyance; some- 
times he is left on purpose, when there are plenty 
of conveyances; sometimes he, for some reason, 
is delayed so long that he fails to be on hand, at 
some important meetings. And many cases and 
differences are settled before he ever gets there, 
but one thing is sure and certain he gets there af- 
ter awhile in some way and his influence is so 
great that in every transaction since the world 
was made, where he was not present, on his arri- 
val the verdict was changed. There is no power, 
no opinions, with all other influences brought to 
bear, that can be, though it be used cunningly 



21 

with all kinds of chicanery, that will not fade and 
lose its color in his presence. As the sun sheds 
forth its light in darkness when it appears, so it 
is with Mr. Truth on the train of life. 



CHAPTER III. 



There is not a passenger on the train of life, 
who does not believe all of this, if he has ever 
been in his company verv much. But Mr. 
Thought continues to call my attention to the 
two doors that I saw at Mr. Wisdom's office, 
with the two doorkeepers, and as we have been 
told about the way we would go when we started 
out by Mr. Right, and heard that way described. 
But what about the other door? It seemed to be 
wider than the door that was kept by Mr. Right, 
and seeing Mr. Truth was in the office I asked 
him what made that door so much larger than the 
one Mr. Right kept. He said there was no good 
reason for it, but there were several different 
kinds of ways that led off just after you pass out 
at that door, and many passengers were going 
out and in — that it took more room that way. 
Seeing Mr. Truth did not take any pleasure in 
describing that way, I asked Mr. Conscience who 
kept that door, and he said it was kept by a man 
by the name of Mr. Wrong, and did not say any 
more. And I saw he, like Mr. Truth, did not 
take any pleasure in describing that way. So I 
did not feel disposed to worry him, and I started 
on in that direction. 

Mr- Thought told me I could look at the door 
for myself, and in conversation with Mr. 



23 

Thought, I was looking around the door. Mr. 
Wrong, the keeper of that door, was on duty and 
saw us and spoke to Mr. Thought very pleasant- 
ly. Mr. Thought being well acquainted with 
him, (Mr. Wrong) introduced me to him, and 
Mr. Thought met me, shook hands and was very 
pleasant. He offered to lead me through this 
door, and said there were many different ways 
that led from his door and I could take any of 
them, but I told him I did not know the ways. 
About that time I heard Mr. Conscience speak 
to some one, and I looked around and he was 
talking to Mr. Caution. It sounded to me like 
he said, "If that fellow starts out that way he 
may get hurt." About that time Mr. Caution 
motioned to me, and I stepped up close enough 
so I could understand what he was going to say, 
as Mr. Thought said he (Mr. Caution) might 
want to speak to me about something. Mr. Cau- 
tion said he was glad I heard him and turned 
back, saying that he was Mr- Conscience's pri- 
vate secretary, and as Mr. Conscience himself 
never had anything to do with Mr. Wrong, only 
when he or some of them who were always going 
out and in at that door tried to pass some tickets 
that Mr. Truth had turned down as no good. 
Then he would personally interfere, 

Mr. Hearing had told me about the rules and 
restrictions that were going to take place at the 
next station, Manhood, and that interested me 
about my ticket. I produced it, and he said, "O, 



24 

that ticket is all right, everybody has one like 
that/' and he said that was my ticket that gave 
me the privilege of going on the train of life; that 
Mr. Birth, the regular ticket agent, issued them 
to everybody, but that ticket was not the ticket 
he was talking about. It was the ticket for the 
baggage, that was signed up by Mr. Truth, he 
was talking about. He said sometimes they 
would forget Mr. Truth's name, and Mr. Mind, 
the conductor could not always tell the differ- 
ence. He said that man Falsehood could write 
almost any kind of a hand, and come so near im- 
itating Mr. Truth in everything, that no one but 
Mr. Truth himself could detect the difference. 

In cases of that kind when Mr. Truth did catch 
up with Mr. Wrong and his followers, then it was 
that Mr- Conscience always took a hand himself, 
unless the passenger had been given over to a 
state of reprobation. Being in Mr. Caution's 
company a good deal, I asked him what about 
that fellow Wrong, the door-keeper of that wide 
door, and he said that apparently he was a fine 
fellow, but after you started out his way he did 
not care anything more about you. He said that 
Mr. Falsehood and all his brothers went out that 
way, and that they had all kinds of amusements 
for the passengers, and Mr. Falsehood was al- 
ways ready to give the passengers any informa- 
tion they wanted. He further said the roadways 
were broad, and when you first started out that 
way there were many things to excite your curi- 



25 

osity, and a great many felt tempted to go on a 
little further, but he said the most of them intend- 
ed to turn back some time sooner or later, and a 
great many did, but there was a great deal of 
scenery and excitement there, and thousands and 
thousands of them never did turn back. Then I 
asked Mr. Caution, if anybody could go out on 
that way some distance and then turn back and 
go out the other way by Mr. Right, on the way 
of peace that Mr. Wisdom walked over, and he 
said that was a question he could not answer him- 
self. That it was his business to keep them from 
going that way at all, if he could, but there was 
one thing he could say — that he never saw one 
go very far out that way without getting hurt, 
before he could get back and go out the other 
way by Mr. Right. 

And he said there was a man, or a beast in the 
shape of a man, at least, that went out Mr. 
Wrong's ways as soon as his door was opened 
and he or his offspring one had been lurking 
around on the edge of Mr. Wrong's way ever 
since. 

Mr. Caution said his name was registered in 
Mr. Wisdom's office, and it was pronounced 
"DANGER." Mr- Caution said he was afraid of 
him, himself, and he warned every one who star- 
ted out by Mr. Wrong, about that man Danger 
or Beast, and I asked him if the passengers did 
not believe what he said. Mr. Caution said some 
did and some did not, and he said they that did 



26 

try to heed his warnings escaped many troubles, 
as his words were a guarantee of safety. But he 
said all of them are like yourself, inclined to want 
to take a look out that way. Then Mr. Thought 
called my attention to starting off that way my- 
self, and meeting Mr. Wrong, and shaking hands 
with him and looking around and out on the 
broad ways. About that time Mr. Truth took 
out his memorandum and wrote something on it 
and showed it to Mr. Conscience. I heard him 
mention my name in connection with the word 
guilty, and Mr. Mind in company with Mr. 
Thought passed through at that time, and I ask- 
ed Mr. Thought what that meant. Mr. Truth 
spoke and said that it was a matter to go on re- 
cord, and if I persisted and went on that way it 
would be kept for evidence, but if I did not go 
on that way by Mr. Wrong, and under his influ- 
ence be decoyed off on the broad ways, but would 
turn back and go out by Mr. Right and keep on 
the way that Mr- Wisdom really went himself, 
that there was a Mr. Peace out by Mr. Right's 
ways who comes in contact with every passen- 
ger that really went on that path to stay, and 
that he, (Mr. Peace) would give me a. certificate 
that would cause Mr. Conscience to have that 
word "Guilty" blotted out from the record. This 
was the most important information I had got- 
ten at Mr. Wisdom's office since I had been on 
the train of life. 

About that time Mr. Truth spoke and said yon- 



27 

der comes a man who went out by Mr. Wrong's 
door, and he is badly crippled and by himself, as 
all of them are that turn back with the full inten- 
tion of not going that way any more. When any 
of them get to where they can't help themselves, 
they don't get any, until they reach Mr. Truth 
and his followers. I watched him come hobbling 
along almost exhausted, and I saw Mr. False- 
hood pass by him and say something, but I could 
not understand w r hat it was, but the man shook 
his head and Mr. Falsehood went on, but as he 
approached the door that Mr. Wrong kept, he 
looked at the man and smiled and said to him, 
"You are coming back this way as soon as you 
get able aren't you?" The man said, "No, no 
never," and then Mr. Wrong changed his smile 
into a sickening frown. About that time Mr. 
Hearing said the engineer was blowing a call 
whistle for help, and remembering what Mr. 
Truth said about the baggage and the wrecks, 
and noticing that we were on a stand still, I 
asked what the trouble was. A fellow passenger 
asked me if I did not see that man come in at the 
door crippled, and I told him yes, and he said 
that fellow went out at Mr. Wrong's door and 
thought the platform was broad enough to stand 
on and the engineer ran off the track and jarred 
the baggage car, causing a little explosion, which 
knocked him down and hurt him. He said the 
man that was hurt said the platform looked plen- 
ty broad and he couldn't see anything that fav- 



28 

ored that fellow Danger that Caution had been 
calling his attention to. Then Mr. Truth spoke 
and said that was too often the case; you can't 
see him until its too late, as it was with that poor 
fellow. He couldn't see that man Danger be- 
cause he was hid in the baggage car, and he is al- 
ways hid some where beyond Mr. Wrong's door. 



CHAPTER IV. 



While the fellow who was hurt was being 
treated, and the engine was being put back on 
the track, Mr. Mind said he did not see why all 
the passengers did not listen to what Mr. Caution 
said. Mr. Mind said that he had been on the 
train of life ever since the first train ran over the 
road, and had been conductor from Bovhood sta- 
tion, and that the large portion of accidents and 
troubles that had occurred on every train of life 
could have been avoided by listening to the ad- 
vice of that man Caution. He had seen many a 
passenger roll and tumble all night in trouble for 
not listening to what Mr. Caution had said. Yes, 
witnessed Mr. Conscience, I have seen thousands 
of cases like that, but, said Mr. Conscience I have 
spent a great deal more of my time with passen- 
gers that Mr. Caution had told about that fellow 
Danger, (and they promised him to keep away 
from him but did not do it) than I have with any 
other cases of trouble, and it always looks like my 
presence makes them worse at first sight. 

But if necessary I take a strong hold on them 
and if advisable rebuke them, and some times se- 
verely, too, and hold the tighter to them until 
they give up, or let go to call for Mr. Truth. And 
when they do and accept him for their future 
guide, I give them something to relieve them, 



30 

knowing that when Mr. Truth gets in full posses- 
sion of them, they will not give me much more 
trouble. I then hardly ever have to spend much 
more time with them. My calls after then are 
mostly to remind them of the obligations they 
took upon themselves for their own good. 

But the cripple man was the center of attrac- 
tion among the passengers, and they too were 
spending their opinion about him and how he got 
hurt. Some of them had not been paying any at- 
tention to what Mr. Mind, the conductor, or Mr, 
Truth, or Mr. Conscience either, had been say- 
ing, and some of the passengers said they were 
sorry for him. Others said it was no matter for 
him; still others said he ought to have gotten 
hurt, and some said they did not care, and a few 
of them said they were glad he did get hurt. 
Some sanctioned what that few said, some of 
them did not say anything at all. Some said he 
got hurt one way and some said another; some 
said one thing hurt him, and some said not so, 
it was something else. At this jucture, Mr. False- 
hood being present (and a little v/ay off from Mr. 
Truth) seeing he had an opportunity, as the pas- 
sengers were divided in opinion, and in a state 
of confusion, that always being Falsehood's op- 
portune time, spoke and said that he had no idea 
that fellow Caution had ever warned that poor 
fellow at all, and said while he (Falsehood) was 
sorry for the man that was hurt and would do 
anything for him he could, there wasn't any use 



31 

of Mr. Truth insinuating against Mr. Wrong, 
the doorkeeper to the broad ways. In talking 
about that great "Booger" being hid behind Mr. 
Wrong's door, he said he spent most of his time 
out on the broad ways, and went on to say the 
roadways were not only broad but pleasant, and 
he said if that great "Booger" Mr. Truth was 
talking about, was hid out beyond Mr. Wrong's 
door, he was not afraid of him. Seeing quite a 
number of the passengers were interested in what 
he was saying, he went on to tell what fine times 
he had experienced on the broad ways. He said 
there was plenty of liquor there, and some of 
the prettiest women he ever saw, and he said 
some of them would get drunk as quick as 
he would, after they got away from that man 
Caution, and stayed out there very long and quit 
listening to his advice. They were not so partic- 
ular as they who were always listening to him, 
(Caution)- 

While Mr. Falsehood was still talking, Mr. 
Hearing said the man who got hurt was moaning 
and wanted water, as is natural for a person to 
want water after losing blood, and just then Mr. 
Conscience passed through that coach and Mr. 
Hearing told him about the man wanting water 
and he said, that sick man must have some water. 
After he passed on, Mr. Falsehood said he was 
very sorry for the poor fellow and would do any- 
thing for him that he could, and was saying then 
that somebody ought to give him some water, 



32 

and started to say something else he would do, 
but saw Mr. Truth coming with the sick man 
some water, and nourishment, and then Mr. 
Falsehood hushed talking. 

Just then Mr. Thought called to me and asked 
me what I was doing, and I told him I had, just 
been sitting there taking in what that fellow 
Falsehood had been saying. Mr- Caution passed 
by and spoke and said I had better be careful 
about what kind of a disposition I made with it, 
if I was taking it in. I then asked Mr. Thought 
why that fellow Falsehood did not give that sick 
man the water, if he was sorry for him and want- 
ed to help him in any way he could? And Mr. 
Thought told Mr. Mind that he was glad I no- 
ticed that, for it always pleased Mr. Truth and 
Mr. Conscience both, to know that the passen- 
gers were observing some things as they were 
going along on the train of life. 



CHAPTER V- 



After seeing what I had since I had been on 
the train of life, I asked Mr. Mind, the conductor, 
if it was that way on every train of life, and he 
said yes, more or less, and seemed as if he was 
going to tell me something more about it, but 
Mr. Thought came along and reminded me that 
we were getting pretty close to Manhood station, 
and I had better look after my baggage ticket and 
have it ready by the time the train of life got 
there. Mr. Caution spoke and said that after we 
got to Manhood, there were going to be separate 
coaches and that there were bad ones and good 
ones, and he said under anything like equal cir- 
cumstances the passengers could get on any kind 
of a coach they wanted to, but he said I had bet- 
ter see about my baggage tickets, and keep them 
straight — that the rules and regulations were go- 
ing to be changed then, and also said that Mr. 
Responsibility had gotten some orders in on the 
train of life since we left Boyhood station. He 
was beginning to read them to the passengers 
and said he was going to hold each passenger per- 
sonally responsible for all the faulty baggage that 
was re-checked at Manhood station, and intended 
to be carried on to the end of the line. As I had 
been informed that the baggage tickets would 
have to be signed by Mr. Truth and Mr. Wis- 



34 

dom's seal stamped on them before they could 
be successfully transferred, and seeing Mr. Mind, 
the conductor, was a little confused, I asked Mr. 
Thought what about it anyway. Mr. Caution be- 
ing present said that all Mr. Truth, the inspector, 
passed on, and signed up, would go whether Mr. 
Wisdom's seal was on it or not, just so it went 
out by Mr. Wisdom's ways. But it would be eas- 
ier identified with his seal on it, and when the 
passengers had the opportunity, it was required 
before it would pass, but he said there is one 
thing you must not do — don't let that fellow 
Falsehood have anything to do with it, for it is 
more than likely that some of those baggage cas- 
es will have to be passed up to the courts to be ad- 
judicated. While that is against Mr. Wisdom's 
will, yet some times its done, and Mr Truth is not 
always present even in some of the courts, for he 
keeps in communication with that man Peace, 
that Mr. Hearing told you about while you were 
in Mr. Wisdom's office. It is when Mr. Truth is 
not present that Mr. Falsehood has the most in- 
fluence over Judge Power. But there is another 
Judge and another court that will have to pass 
on it before the decision of Judge Power's will 
be in full effect, and Judge Power has the power 
to grant injunctions and to seize man and his 
property and imprison the man and turn his prop- 
erty over to another, yet all of Judge Power's 
decisions are subject to the criticism and approval 
of Judge Justice. That man Mr. Wisdom is the 



35 

clerk of that court, and every bond, every de- 
cree, and every order of that court must be exe- 
cuted by Mr. Wisdom, or in his name, while Mr. 
Wisdom furnishes any information that is want- 
ed or asked for, as any clerk of any common court 
of law does. Yet when it comes to his approval 
of any bond, or decree of the court, it has to be 
right, and while Mr. Falsehood and all of his kind 
go to him for information, they hardly ever go 
back to him for his approval, or his signature to 
any of their own works, and as often as they do, 
just so often are they refused. So says Mr. Truth 
and Tradition, for if he (Mr. Wisdom) approves 
of anything that is wrong, he knows full well that 
it would not make any difference what kind of 
a case it was, it would be forever barred from 
the highest court of appeals that is presided over 
by that high Judge, called Righteousness. And 
again Mr. Truth and Tradition (Mr. Truth's re- 
cord) says that Mr. Wisdom has an enemy, by 
the name of Folly, that has been trying ever since 
the world was made to dethrone and break down 
Mr Wisdom and cheat him out of his office, and 
Mr. Truth again said that if Folly could do that 
and get hold of the great seal that Mr. Wisdom 
uses, he (Mr. Folly) would destroy it. And 
again says Mr. Truth, history (tradition) is that 
every passenger on the train of life (person) and 
every nation of people that Mr. Folly got in full 
possession of he destroyed. 



CHAPTER VI. 

As I was nearing the next station, I began to 
meditate on what Mr. Hearing had told me and 
what had been kept for me by Mr. Mind, what 
Mr. Thought had said about Mr. Truth and Mr. 
Falsehood, and the construction Mr. Wisdom 
had put on the whole trip, (up to that time). I 
began to wonder what Mr. Truth was going to 
do with my baggage, and how I was going to 
fare when I got to the next station. Mr. Thought 
even had begun to ask me then for my opinion 
about the trip from then on to the end of the line. 
Just then Mr. Caution remarked that you could 
not always tell how a passenger would turn out 
Sometimes, he said a passenger (either sex) 
would be very unruly all the way from the town 
of Infancy to the next station, Manhood, and 
then calm down, and their baggage would be re- 
checked, and from there on the balance of the 
journey be perfectly peaceful, and go along easy. 
While on the other hand, he said, some would do 
very well until they got to that station, Manhood, 
and their baggage would not show up so good, 
and they would be reckless from there on. But 
would become somewhat wearied at times of so 
many conflicts in life and finally turn out to be 
a failure. 

I moved up a little closer to Mr. Thought, and 



37 

asked him in the presence of Mr. Mind what 
about all these things I had been seeing, and Mr. 
Hearing had been sending Mr. Teller to me 
with? Mr. Truth replied and said I need not be- 
lieve everything Mr. Teller told me, for that man 
will keep company with anybody, and every- 
thing said in his presence is told. Sometimes it 
has my signature to it, and sometimes it has not, 
but he will carry news for Mr, Falsehood the 
same as he will for me. Seeing I had an oppor- 
tunity, I decided to ask Mr. Truth a few ques- 
tions, and did. I asked him if that man False- 
hood had baggage on the train of life, and he 
said, O, yes if he did not have, Mr. Mind, the con- 
ductor, would cease to have anything to do with 
him, and in that case he could not get Mr. 
Thought, (the chief porter) to act for him. I 
then asked him how about his baggage inspec- 
tion, did he find any of it good? and he said yes, 
some of it was, and all that was good he O. K.'d 
it, and not only did he, but that man Justice, the 
Judge of the court, would give him credit for all 
that was good. But he said the most of the bag- 
gage that Falsehood had which would pass in- 
spection he knew was given him, maybe, by his 
father or mother, or some one — that he did not 
carry it from a good desire, but for his own spec- 
ial benefit to use only in helping him along on 
the train of life, or perhaps he or his brother, 
Thief, had stolen it. I asked him then if he knew 
Mr. Falsehood had stolen it why did he pass on 



38 

it? He said because he found them in False- 
hood's possession, and besides he said Falsehood 
and his brother Thief both got their ticket from 
Mr. Birth, just like everybody else did, and that 
entitled them to a trip on the train of life. He 
said as for the bad baggage (impressions), False- 
hood could throw them off any time he wished to, 
but the good ones ought to be taken care of, it 
did not matter who you found with them. 



CHAPTER VII. 

And as we went along, Mr. Thought said 
something about Mr. Falsehood and his kinsmen, 
and how they had always gotten along, and 
spoke of their ups and downs; what they had 
gotten into, and what they had gotten out of; 
what they had gotten into and could not get out 
of. I asked him what their occupation was, an4 
he said they had all sorts of occupations. Some 
of them were farmers, some of them merchants, 
some of them lawyers, some of them doctors, 
some horse-traders, some wage workers, and 
some of them railroad owners. Then Mr. Truth 
said they were in every avocation of life. I 
asked him if any of them were preachers, and he 
said some of them in name, but not recognized 
as such in the courts of the high Judge, and 
neither by the King of Kings. Mr. Thought 
then said that I knew Mr. Falsehood, and some of 
his connection might be somewhere close by, and 
Mr. Truth said yes, they are mixed all in among 
the passengers and officers, and in fact, he said, 
they are a part of them, though he said you could 
meet and be with Mr. Thief, Falsehood's brother, 
and then not see the real person. 

He said you even might have some dealings 
and then not recognize him, though you had 
been with him many, many times. Mr. Truth 



40 

said you would never know him without his work 
became a burden to him and he told you himself, 
unless he pointed him out to you, and he said 
he had done that by showing the acts and deeds 
on him, without ever going into any trial. Mr- 
Truth said he had seen him slip through the 
coaches and in the offices and get under big piles 
of baggage and you could see little acts and deeds 
begin to show themselves, and he said he would 
keep on risking it, although he had heard it ex- 
plained since he had been on the train of life that 
bad baggage was, after it passed through a cer- 
tain stage, inclined to be explosive. But still af- 
ter his listening to Mr. Caution, he will go on try- 
ing to cover up those little acts and deeds, think- 
ing he is hid and by covering them up, he will 
keep me, (Truth) fooled and keep on until he 
causes an explosion and exposes himself. Mr. 
Truth said that just as sure as you stir up that 
bad baggage and put into effect those little acts 
and deeds, and big ones too, they would get to 
crawling around, and when they commence 
crawling around you always know the bad bag- 
gage is being disturbed. 

Mr. Truth said that was not all the trouble 
about those little acts and deeds, that where they 
crawl out on a passenger on the train of life they 
leave a sore where they crawl, and if they contin- 
ue to crawl out on you and you let them go on 
until that slime or larvae, begins to form and you 
continue to let them grow by feeding them on in- 



41 

diligence and practice, that observation, exper- 
ience and Tradition all agree with Mr. Truth, 
that they will sooner or later destroy the pas- 
senger (person) forever. And while Falsehood 
may have told the party infected with those lit- 
tle beings that it would never hurt them, and 
cause the passenger to start out with and con- 
tinue to carry bad baggage, yet cases have been 
known to be cured by washing in a cleansing 
preparation of chastisement, and then forever 
keep clean. Mr. Truth's medical journal says 
where there is a cure effected the scars never hurt 
like the sores did to let them run on. Listening 
to so much about those little pests, I asked Mr. 
Thought if any one passenger was more likely to 
get in contact with them than another, and he 
said it mostly depended on the way we use the 
baggage. Then Mr. Truth took occasion to say 
that the worst fault he ever found with Mr- Cau- 
tion was, that his mission being to warn against 
bad baggage and that fellow Danger, sometimes 
his order is to commit and sometimes it is to omit, 
and in his work of commission he gives the com- 
mand many times but fails to enforce it. If a 
passenger is real lazy and idlesome, Mr. Mind 
not having anything to do, and Mr. Thought, the 
porter, quits stirring around, those insects hatch 
out faster. 

Then I asked him another question; I said I 
would like to know what part of the passenger 
those insects commence to work on first. Mr. 



42 

Truth said he would answer that question him- 
self, but told me to listen to him a little while be- 
fore he answered the direct question. He said 
every passenger that got his ticket from Mr. 
Birth, (and everybody had to get their's from 
him that went on the train of life), had every- 
thing furnished them but one thing. That thing 
they had to make for themselves, for that is one 
thing everybody who is a rational being, can't 
get any other way — their father, their mother, 
and no earthly power can give you thaf one thing. 
He said you must and will make it yourself, let 
it be good or bad. At that point I could not with- 
hold any longer, and I asked him what that one 
thing was, and he said it was your character, and 
then I understood. He said, now I will answer 
the direct question. Your character is the first 
thing those insects would commence on if you 
get in contact with them. While they affect you 
in every way, they commence on the character 
first. And he said what made that hurt so bad 
was they worked on that part of you which you 
have to make for yourself. He went on to say 
that in that particular the female was easier hurt 
than the male. 



■ CHAPTER VIII. 

Now, Mr. Thought was very busy, and as Mr. 
Truth is a living and a never-failing fountain for 
instruction, I asked him what about the good im- 
pressions, or baggage, if they had any thing in 
them or was there any thing about them to create 
those little beings, acts or deeds, or whatever 
they were, and to my surprise he commenced 
smiling, and said he was glad I had asked him 
that question, and to be certain that I could un- 
derstand what he said, I moved a little closer to 
him. He said yes, there were germs in the good 
baggage, and they formed into beings by indul- 
gence and practice, on the same principle as the 
other kind, but by a different process, and that 
they were altogether a different kind of being, 
and had a very different effect on the person that 
possessed them, and not at all inclined to be of an 
explosive nature. 

Then Mr. Thought spoke and said to me, you 
have seen one of those little acts that was hatched 
out of good impressions, or baggage, and that 
was so in the case of the man that got hurt on the 
train of life; that while Mr. Falsehood was ex- 
pressing sorrow for the sick man and saying he 
would do anything for him he could, Mr. Truth 
went and got the man, who was moaning and 
crying for water, what he needed to cool his 



44 

thirst. Then I understood it better, and asked 
Mr. Truth why they ever allowed any bad im- 
pressions or baggage on the train of life, and he 
said I did not know what I was talking about, 
and besides, that was none of my business, and 
even if I knew why it was, that bad baggage was 
allowed on the train of life and I could not change 
it now. That the train of life did not belong to 
me, and neither did the road it was run on, and 
that the best thing for me to do was to listen to 
him, Mr. Truth, the inspector, and obey the rules 
and regulations, and make the best out of the 
journey I could, and if I did that the reward 
would be just as great for me at the end of the 
line as it would have been if the bad baggage 
never had been allowed on the train of life. Then 
I could see plainer, and Mr. Truth went on to 
say that it was my part of the business to guard 
against the practice forming and the bad impres- 
sions I had gotten hold of on the train of life, and 
keep on going to Mr. Wisdom's office where they 
were being sorted out, and if possible learn to 
deteet the bad ones from the good, throwing the 
bad ones away and keeping the good ones, which 
should be fed on indulgence and practice, and for 
a well balanced food, add an equal amount of 
perseverance. 



CHAPTER IX. 



By this time I had begun to ask Mr. Thought 
about this man Truth very seriously, while he did 
to a certain extent travel along on the train ot 
life like the balance of the passengers and seemed 
to be humble, as far as obeying the rules was con- 
cerned, at times he spoke with authority, and he 
did that anywhere on the coach and among the 
large and the small, to the officers same as to the 
passengers, and in all of his disputes he always 
came out victorious in the end. But that man 
Falsehood was always belittling him to his back. 
I asked Mr. Thought what made Mr. Falsehood 
do that way, and he said he did not know, but 
there was a history in Mr. Wisdom's office, or 
plenty of them as to that matter, that I could 
buy, or maybe borrow, if I was not able to buy. 
At any rate he knew I could get it if I would 
try, and it would tell me all about the Falsehood 
family and all of his connection. 

Then I began to inquire about it, and one of 
Mr. Wisdom's agents heard me inquiring about 
some of the books, and gave me the name of the 
book, the title of which was "Tradition and Ob- 
servation." Being interested, I managed to se- 
cure one, and when I opened it and began to read, 
I soon found the book was written by Mr. Truth, 
or by his orders. At any rate, he was the author 



46 

of the book's contents, and I soon found a refer- 
ence to a book that Mr- Falsehood had written, 
and was surprised from what I had seen of Mr, 
Falsehood, that he had written a book. After I 
studied it more and learned more about it, I was 
not surprised, for I found in the book where Mr. 
Truth had showed Mr. Falsehood's position in 
every transaction that he (Falsehood) ever had 
anything to do with, and showed that he had by 
his words caused the death of the innocent, and 
that by his words the just had been convicted of 
heinous crimes, that by his words he had fixed a 
plan for Thief, his brother, to steal the last mor- 
sel of bread from the poor, that by his words his 
brother Drunkard had persuaded Mr. Truth's son 
to drink, and by his words he had caused his 
brother Extortion to become a millionaire. By 
his enticing words and ways he had won million- 
aire agents over to him and got in office both 
high and low, and by his words they got in con- 
trol of the law-making powers and through their 
influence, had corrupted great nations, caused 
them to crumble and fall to pices, and then I did 
not wonder at Falsehood also writing a history. 
In conversation with Mr. Thought, he told me 
that Mr. Falsehood was forced to write a historv, 
or be forever put out of business. When Mr. Truth 
began to write and expose Mr. Falsehood, Mr. 
Falsehood began to deny it, and then Mr. Truth 
began to prove every assertion that he made 
against Falsehood. When Mr. Truth saw that 



47 

Mr. Falsehood had a large following on the train 
of life, then he began to furnish the proof from 
Mr. Falsehood's own record, and proved beyond 
every doubt under the sun, that Falsehood was 
not only guilty of what he had charged against 
him, but proved by the records of the courts and 
thousands of living witnesses that he had been 
convicted of every crime he had him charged 
with, and thousands of others. But while I was 
reading this book, one of Mr Wisdom's agents 
came along and saw the book, then he introduced 
himself to me. He remarked, I see you are read 
ing one of Mr. Wisdom's books, and I said no, it's 
Mr. Truth's book. O, yes, Mr. Truth is the au- 
thor of it but Mr. Wisdom published it. I looked 
for the publishers name, and cure enough Mr. 
Wisdom was the publisher of the book, and then 
he said he was an agent of the Wisdom Publish- 
ing Company. Seeing he was an agent, I asked 
his name, although he had just told me, but I did 
not understand, and he said his name was Chican- 
ery, he said he knew I did not understand when 
he introduced himself. I then asked him if he 
sold the book I was reading and he said no, he 
did not sell that kind, but was selling one pub- 
lished by the same company, only by a different 
author He presented the book, and it looked as 
well as the one I was reading, and then he told 
me that there was a big controversy up between 
the author of the book I had been reading and the 
one who wrote ^ the book he was selling, and I 



48 

would be missing the best of my life if I did not 
buy the book he was selling. I asked him who 
wrote his book, he said the Hon. Mr. Falsehood, 
one of the greatest explorers of all the continents, 
and was a man that had a large following every 
where he went. Mr. Chicanery went on to say 
that he was not taking sides in the controversy, 
but Mr. Falsehood was a great man, and that I 
ought to have one of his books. He told me that 
he heard before, that I liked to read and he said 
that was a good sign, and that I would soon be to 
the next station, Manhood, and that he guessed 
that I had already read in Mr. Truth's book that 
there were lots of offices to be filled after we got 
to that station, and as to that matter, thousands 
of other good positions to be filled besides the 
offices and that I ought to keep posted right up to 
date. And then Mr. Chicanery lowered the tone 
of his voice and said that he had heard of me be- 
fore, that I had a very good name, and that if I 
would take the book, he had some other literature 
he would send me free of charge, which he said 
would give me some light on other things. See- 
ing I was still reluctant about buying his book, 
he repeated that Mr. Truth and Mr. Falsehood's 
books on their controversy was the biggest thing 
in the world, and that I could not afford to miss 
buying Mr. Falsehood's book — that I needed it. 
Then I asked him who wrote the books, or liter- 
ature he was talking about, and he said first one 
and then another. They were all sorts of books, 



49 

and I asked him which side they were on and he 
said, some on one side and some on the other, and 
some not on either side — that some authors would 
quote first from Mr. Truth and then from Mr. 
Falsehood. I asked him if the ones that did that 
would put it all in the same book, and he said 
yes, sir, they would take some out of Mr. Truth's 
book, and put in, and then take some from Mr. 
Falsehood's book and put the whole thing in the 
same book together, but he said he was not 
specially pushing the sale of the mixed-books, 
though he said if I wanted one, he had a friend 
by the name of Sharper, who was selling them, 
and if I had never met his friend, (Sharper), he 
would speak to him about me. Or if I would be 
kind enough to give him my address, he would 
speak to his friend Sharper, and have him to 
write me. He then asked me if I did not get my 
book from Mr. Knowledge, and I told him I did 
not know the gentleman selling the book I had, 
that I made some inquiry about it, and a gentle- 
man, I was not acquainted with, told me about it. 
Yes, said Mr. Chicanery, that was Mr. Knowl- 
edge. 



CHAPTER X. 



Then in company with Mr. Thought, I asked 
him in the presence of Mr. Mind, what about 
that man Knowledge, who Mr. Chicanery said 
sold the books Mr. Truth wrote. Mr. Mind said 
he and Mr. Caution were going to Mr. Knowl- 
edge's office, and if we would, (Mr Thought and 
myself) could walk on that way with them. So 
Mr. Mind in the lead and Mr. Thought next, Mr. 
Caution holding the lantern, I followed, and 
when we reached his office (though I don't know 
whether it was his main office or not) I found 
Mr. Truth in the office with another man, and Mr. 
Truth being better acquainted with me than I 
was with him, introduced me to Mr. Knowledge. 
Then they proceeded with their conversation, 
and I found they were talking about the trains of 
life and the passengers generally. While they 
were rehearsing some of the things that had been 
done on the train of life, and how foolish some 
of them were, and how the passengers would at- 
tempt to carry bad baggage, after being warned 
by Caution, and what the effect of it would be, 
just then Mr. Thought punched me and I moved 
and that woke up Mr. Conscience, as he was tak- 
ing a nap in the office. He raised up and cast his 
eyes at me, and I never had such feelings in my 
life. I felt so little and weak, that I had to catch 



51 

hold of Mr. Thought, but Mr. Truth, being near, 
reached out his hand and steadied me, and told 
me to straighten up — that I was perfectly wel- 
come in Mr. Knowledge's office, and that he was 
glad to see me there. 

By this time, feeling a little better, I asked Mr. 
Truth if I would not be in the way, I would like 
to rest there awhile and listen to them further. 
Then Mr. Knowledge spoke and said yes, just 
make yourself at home, and not only in this office 
but I have offices all along this road and at any 
time you wish just go in and get acquainted with 
the keeper. As long as you conduct yourself as 
you have here, you will always be a welcome vis- 
itor. And then every thing being quiet and still, 
I got out my book and Mr. Thought asked me 
if I felt like reading some. I told him I did, and 
commenced to read in the book where Mr. Truth 
had been away back in the commencement, not 
only of the building of the road that the train of 
life was running on, but that he was away back in 
the beginning of the plans to build, not only the 
road that the train of life runs on, but in the plans 
to build everything else that was built, and I saw 
in the book where Mr. Truth had been the keeper 
of a land or country that surpassed all other 
lands or countries in beauty and comfort and 
loveliness, and of everything that made for the 
happiness of the dwellers therein. In that land 
there were no dissensions at all, until one day Mr. 
Truth was looking over his garden and he looked 



52 

over on the other side of the river, in another 
country, and saw a man and a woman coming in 
that direction, and they looked as though they 
were man and wife, just starting out. They 
came on to the river, and there was no way for 
them to cross only on the bridge of life, that had 
been built by Mr. Truth's father. They came to 
the river just at that bridge, and the woman see- 
ing some nice fruit over in the garden, and want- 
ing some of it, they went over on the bridge of 
life and did eat, although Mr. Truth was there 
watching the whole affair, and could have pre- 
vented it if he would, but he suffered it to be so. 

I also read that they had been instructed to let 
the fruit alone, in the midst of that land, and 
there is the beginning of the controversy. I read 
in the book that Mr. Falsehood was there on the 
bridge of life and that he told the woman it was 
perfectly safe, and invited the woman to cross 
over and eat the fruit, and notwithstanding they 
had been told to let it alone, they did eat it. I 
read in the book that Mr. Truth, knowing his 
father would, sooner or later remove that bridge 
of life and put it on a surer foundation, where it 
would lead the passengers into a better land, he, 
(Mr. Truth), spoke to the man and woman and 
told them that the bridge that they crossed on 
was his, and they could not go back on that 
bridge. That it was going to be removed and the 
only way for them to ever get back was to cross 
on a bridge called death. I read in the book that 



53 

when Mr. Truth went away, Mr. Falsehood told 
them that the bridge of life would not be destroy- 
ed, that they would not have to cross on the 
bridge of death. But when they had to get out of 
the garden they looked and saw the approach of 
the bridge was guarded, and sure enough they 
had commenced at the other end to tear it down, 
and they saw that they must go to the bridge of 
death to cross. Then being sore afraid, Falsehood 
offered to go with them and in reading in the 
book, I found where Mr. Truth had used in a test 
case on the train of life a man by the name of Ex- 
perience, whose testimony showed that the great 
conflict was between the two bridges just men- 
tioned, and the high court accepted the testimony 
and from that testimony the verdict was rendered 
and stands until this day. But I read in the book 
that while the old bridge of life was removed, 
there was a better bridge of life, that would stand 
as long as time lasts, that was built just at me 
other end of the bridge called death, and that 
there is a way to cross over the bridge of death 
and miss the great gulf at t^ie other end; that 
there is even a better country beyond the bridge 
of death than the one we are in now, and that in 
that country there is no forbidden fruit, that all 
the passengers who find that way will have access 
to all the fruits and pleasures of that land. But 
as the whole train of life has to go over the 
bridge of death, and not but one way to miss a 
great gulf at the other end of the bridge called 



54 

death, Mr. Mind, the conductor, should be very 
careful how he allows his engineer to run on it. I 
read on in the book where Mr. Truth, the inspec- 
tor, said he watched the bridge being built, and 
while there was but one way to keep the train of 
life from running off the bridge called death, yet 
he said, if the passengers would conform to all 
the rules and regulations, they could cross over in 
all safety and possess that beautiful land, prepar- 
ed for all that found the true way and that he was 
ready to show all that really wanted to go to that 
land the way; that he had to cross the bridge 
himself and knew the way and would lead others, 
and as many as wanted to go that way he would 
also furnish them a guide, but without his guide 
to aid them, they could never cross over that 
gulf. 



CHAPTER XL 

After reading all these things in Mr. Truth's 
book, and seeing that Mr. Truth was also the in- 
spector of the train of life and the only one that 
ever had been or ever would be, as he was inde- 
structible, and no power (even Judge Power him- 
self) could change him, and he the only one that 
could point out the only and safe way over the 
bridge of death, I asked Mr. Thought why every 
passenger on the train of life did not heed his 
words. He said that was the greatest question 
between the two bridges, why we do not, but he 
said that man Falsehood commenced on the first 
bridge of life, and had been decoying every pass- 
enger away from Mr. Truth that he could, and 
notwithstanding he fooled the man and the wo- 
man by telling them that the first bridge would 
not be torn down, and before his (Falsehood's) 
and the man and the woman's own eyes, and as 
we have seen ourselves, it was torn down, and all 
forced to cross back over the bridge of death, yet 
he has thousands and millions of followers. Then 
I asked him what could any passenger promise 
themselves to follow that man Falsehood, and he 
said that I woud be surprised to know the differ- 
ent ways that he had to decoy passengers off. 
He said he had al sorts and all kinds of ways — 
too many for him to mention, but he said there 



56 

was a little book that I could read, and it was in 
Mr. Mind's office, and it would give me a pretty 
fair idea of some of Mr. Falsehood's ways of de- 
coying the passengers off from Mr. Truth's way. 
I asked him what kind of a book it was, and he 
said the title of the book was Observation, and 
then I went in Mr. Mind's office and got the book. 
Then he said there was another book that Mr. 
Truth wrote on the same subject, and the title of 
that book was Tradition. He further said Mr. 
Caution had some little tracts published that 
he was handing out, the title of which was 
"Watch and See," that were very useful, and he 
said there was no use in passengers not finding 
out how it was, if they wanted to know. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Then I went into Mr. Mind's office and secured 
the little book and began to read. The author 
of the book started out describing a wedding that 
he attended once. He said the names of the 
couple was a young Mr. Ignorance, who mar- 
ried a young Miss Know-Nothing, and the con- 
tracting parties being reasonably well to do, they 
invited the whole community, and quite a num- 
ber were in attendance. Some of the poor Ike's 
and some of the well-off families were there, and 
some of the Falsehood family and a number of 
their relatives and a few of Mr. Truth's people 
were there and witnessed the ceremony. He 
said one of the young Miss Falsehoods acted as 
maid of honor, and also a distant relative of Mr. 
Truth was another maid of honor. 

After the wedding was over, the next thing on 
the program was, it being in the evening, for all 
hands to go into the dining room and enjoy their 
part of the repast that had been prepared for the 
occasion, which consisted of all sorts of good 
things to eat. By the suggestion of some of the 
older Falsehoods, several games were proposed, 
and a table being fixed, several bottles of wine 
were set on the table together with a deck of 
cards. Everybody was invited to take a hand 
who wished to, and while the wedding took 



58 

place at the bride's father's house, the old man 
did not think any harm could grow out of it, so 
he offered no objections, and the game and the 
drinking went on. But at the proper hour the 
relatives of Mr. Truth all went home, but the 
Falsehoods, never caring for the dark, continued 
to stay, and kept up the game and the drink, and 
kept it up until the old man, Know-Nothing, and 
the old lady, the bride's mother and father, being 
worried from the preparations they had gone to, 
and the trouble and expense they had been put to 
for the wedding, retired to their room and went 
to bed, leaving it all with the young folks to 
have a good time. The Falsehoods then being 
there in full possession, started out at a lively 
rate to have a "High heel" time, and so it went 
on, some playing cards, some drinking whiskey, 
and as some of the Drunkard's family were there, 
after they had gotten sufficient whisky, got into 
a row and broke up what some of them were 
pleased to call a fine time. That bringing the af- 
fair to a close, so far as the social features or the 
fun went, and as was the custom all but the im- 
mediate family, or maybe a few relatives or 
friends, began to leave, and some of the young 
Falsehood gentlemen of course, accompanied the 
young Ignorant ladies, and others on their way. 
The author of the little book said you could bet- 
ter find out about what happened after they left 
the wedding and on the way home, or wherever 
they went, by reading Mr. Caution's little tracts, 



59 

the title being "Watch and See." But at any rate 
the older Falsehoods said that it was the most 
"swell" affair that had happened on the journey 
from Boyhood station to Manhood, and in their 
opinion would equal anything that would happen 
from there on, and that they wanted to get up 
something of the kind again at the earliest date 
possible. The drunken row was deplored by all 
concerned, but the Falsehoods continued to in- 
sist that this part of the performance would be 
left off next time, and the Ignorants and the 
Know-Nothings, the Falsehoods and the Sharp- 
ers, and a number of others continued to talk the 
affair and other things of a like nature until they 
had a few entertainments that excited the curios- 
ity of nearly all the young people on the train of 
life, and the relatives of Mr. Truth — that is, the 
young people, wanted to go, and some of the best 
people on the train actually attended them. But 
some of the Wisdom families said they did not 
and would not allow their young people to attend 
that kind of entertainment, and suggested that 
there were other ways for their young people to 
enjoy themselves; that they positively would not 
have anything to do with any kind of gathering 
that would lead out on the broad ways beyond 
Mr. Wrong's door, nor any at all unless it was 
presided over by Mr. Caution. He or some of 
his kinsmen must be there in person and dictate 
every detail of the program. Then Mr. Thought 
spoke to Mr. Mind and said that was the same 



60 

kind that Mr. Truth spoke of in his book, on the 
occasion of the old man's son coming home, and 
a certain King praising the High Judge, and later 
on a marriage feast, and water turned into wine, 
and so on, — and then I could understand and see 
plainer than I could before. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

In company with Mr. Thought in Mr. Mind's 
office, I began to make inquiries about how much 
further it was to the next station, and as I had 
been told a good deal about Manhood station, I 
asked Mr. Thought if it was any more exciting 
than Boyhood station. Mr. Truth said no, there 
was not as much excitement in Manhood as there 
was in Boyhood, for the reason that the people 
were better settled. 

Just at this juncture Mr. Teller came in ana 
said that Mr. Hearing told him that there was 
some trouble on board. I asked what sort of 
trouble, and he said it grew out of bad blood be- 
tween some parties that met up at Drunkard's 
grocery. I was interested in the news, but just 
at that time, I was in trouble myself, knowing 
that my baggage was being inspected and from 
what I had seen and read up to that time on the 
train of life about the inspection, I felt a little 
uneasy. Seeing and being with Mr. Truth more 
or less on the train of life and having learned by 
this time there was no change in him, and notic- 
ing that he and Mr. Knowledge were very famil- 
iar at the time I was in Mr. Knowledge's office 
with them; also remembering that Mr. Knowl- 
edge had invited me to come in at any time I 
wished, I went on. And sure enough, I found 



62 

him in his office, and being informed that he was 
handling the books that Mr. Truth wrote, I 
asked him what about that fellow Chicanery 
who was selling the book that Mr. Falsehood 
wrote. He said he knew him and also knew the 
book, and not only that, but he knew Sharper, 
and the book he was selling. Then I asked him 
what about the book that Falsehood wrote — was 
it a good book, and if I could gain any informa- 
tion by reading it? He said I would not, and that 
it would only be time lost. I told him there were 
many passengers reading them and that some of 
the passengers said they could not see much dif- 
ference in them. Yes, he said the reason of that 
was, there is not a single follower of Mr. Truth 
who has not had some bad impressions or bag- 
gage since they have been on the train, and that 
Mr. Falsehood, when face to face, would admit 
his guilt if that was necessary to save him from 
bodily harm. Then when Mr. Truth turned his 
back he would say that it was no worse than 
Truth's follower. Any of the Truths will admit 
their guilt, and that is confusing to a great many 
people, that they will admit the truth and ac- 
knowledge their faults. Falsehood goes into 
every court that has him brought before it, with 
only one hope, and that is that Mr. Truth's kin- 
dred won't be there, and if so, he wants witnesses 
that are thoroughly versed in the Falsehood 
book. But that is not the worst trouble we find 
in the courts. Our worst trouble grows out of 



63 

the book that man Sharper sells. There are a 
large number of the passengers on the train of 
life that are not on either side of the controversy. 
Mr. Knowledge futher said that a man by the 
name of Public Influence wrote the book that 
Sharper was selling, and the only motive that 
Public Influence had in writing a book was to get 
something that would suit the taste of the passen- 
gers, and in getting up the statistics that he need- 
ed for his book he would take that which suits his 
purpose the best, regardless of who wrote them, 
Truth or Falsehood. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

And seeing that the man Knowledge seemed 
to be acquainted with all the books, I asked him if 
he knew anything about the book that Falsehood 
wrote. He looked at me with a smile, and said 
when I got better acquainted with him I would 
find out that he knew something about not only 
the book that Falsehood wrote, but all the rest of 
the books that were made — that he was interest- 
ed in the first book that was ever printed, and 
even before there were any printing presses, and 
he was concerned in the first law that was ever 
given to mankind. Thought stepped in and 
asked Mr. Knowledge who wrote the first book, 
Mr. Truth or Mr. Falsehood, and Knowledge re- 
plied that Mr. Truth of course. He said False- 
hood would never have written any book at all, 
but he was forced to do it in self defense. Mr. 
Knowledge then went on to give a little history 
of the controversy between Mr. Truth and Mr. 
Falsehood. He said that when it was discovered 
that people were put on this earth to live for a 
season, it was also discovered that the.y needed 
teaching; that there was also a law given, and 
they were required to keep that law. Then he 
asked a question. He asked me if I knew or could 
remember when I got on the train of life. I told 
him that Mr. Birth attended to that, so I had been 



65 

informed, and he said yes, he knew that, but told 
me to answer the direct question — did I remem- 
ber the first day I lived on the train of life. Then 
I answered no. Then Mr. Knowledge said, out- 
side of the man and the woman who crossed over 
the river on the bridge of life, where they met Mr. 
Falsehood, every other passenger on the train of 
life started out just like I did. Then he asked 
me another question, viz: If I had never learned 
anything more than I knew the first day I lived, 
could I have been of any pleasure or service to 
anybody else? I told him if I had lived and 
grown strong, that maybe I could. He said I 
could not, for the reason that if I had always been 
like I was the first day I lived, that if I had grown 
strong physically, I would not have any mind to 
conduct me, and no teller to talk, and no thought 
to guide me and no conscience to check me, and if 
my hearing told me anything I could not have 
understood it. That would have destroyed 
the pleasure and service of my sight, and 
strength. Then he told me to answer the 
direct question, and tell if I had been all of my 
life as I was the first day I was born, would I 
have been any pleasure or service to myself or 
anybody else. I answered no. Then, said Mr. 
Knowledge, after pointing these facts out to me, 
you can better understand my description of the 
controversy between Mr. Truth and Mr. False- 
hood. He said furthermore that he (Mr. Knowl- 
edge) had been insulted, mistreated, abused, 



66 

criticised, humiliated, degraded and misrepre- 
sented ever since the earth was peopled, but he 
said he had never been called on to furnish a book 
or record for the court, or statistics of any kind 
or any kind of information that he had not cheer- 
fully done it. I asked him if he helped Mr. False- 
hood make his book, and he said while that was a 
premature question, he would answer it for my 
special benefit, not that it would do him any good 
at all but he (Mr. Knowledge) said that his mis- 
sion on earth was to furnish information, and for 
some reason the command that was given to him 
was to furnish every one that asked for it and 
made an effort to secure it. He said he had no 
instructions to withhold it from anyone that 
would diligently seek it, and for that good and 
sufficient reason when Mr. Falsehood came to 
him for information he gave it to him. But Mr. 
Knowledge looked at me and said in no uncer- 
tain tones, that as I had asked the question 
whether he helped Mr. Falsehood make his book 
or not, to the extent of teaching him how to make 
a book and for what information he sought to 
word it up, he furnished, but was in no way re- 
sponsible for the way he used it or the effect it 
had on those who read it. Just at this time Mr. 
Truth remarked that Mr. Knowledge was right 
about that matter — that Mr. Mr. Falsehood had 
quoted passage after passage from the book that 
he (Mr. Truth), wrote, and had done that for 
a two-fold purpose. The first reason Mr. 



67 

Falsehood had was, that in the event the reader, 
(you), had never read his (Mr. Truth's), works 
the reader (you), would give Mr. Falsehood 
credit for the language used. And the sec- 
ond reason was, that in the event you had 
read his (Truth's) work it might be the reader 
(you) was not well versed in his (Truth's) works, 
and in that event words approved and sanctioned 
by Mr. Truth always stand in the end, and know- 
ing that as Mr. Falsehood does, he did it to 
strengthen that part that he was the author of 
himself. 



CHAPTER XV. 



Then Mr. Thought said to Mr. Knowledge that 
his understanding was, Mr. Knowledge was go- 
ing to describe the controversy between Mr. 
Truth and Mr. Falsehood. I remarked yes, and it 
was getting late and I wanted to hurry up and get 
on to Manhood station. Yes, said Mr. Knowl- 
edge thousands and thousands of passengers had 
landed at that station, without making much ef- 
fort or spending much time to consult him, al- 
though he stood at Mr. Wisdom's office ready to 
hand out the information they needed most after 
they got to that place. Then Mr. Truth spoke 
and said to me, how is that with you? And before 
I had time to answer, Mr. Conscience rose up 
from the same place he was on another occasion, 
when I was in Mr. Knowledge's office, and 
looked straight at me, and then I said I am guilty. 
Then Mr. Caution spoke and said it was sad to 
think of the plight of those who had been other- 
wise employed on the train of life, that they did 
not seek the information they needed from Mr. 
Knowledge. Still many others had .not only 
made that mistake, but they also avoided the com- 
pany of Mr. Truth, the inspector of the baggage. 
Then Mr. Thought asked Mr. Knowledge, what 
made the passengers do that, knowing that he 
(Mr. Knowledge) and Mr. Truth had the only 



69 

information that was safe to take for a guide from 
there on to the end of the line. Mr. Knowledge 
said there was really none, but there were more 
people engaged in manufacturing excuses w r hy 
they did not, than any other kind of manufac- 
turing interest in existence. After listening to 
all of this, and Mr. Conscience continuing 
to look at me occasionally, I had begun 
troubling Mr. Mind, the conductor, a whole lot 
about Mr. Truth's book, and he told me Mr. 
Knowledge could tell me all about it. I went 
back to Mr. Knowledge's office, remembering 
that he said he was always ready to help those 
who deserved it. On my arrival I asked him if 
Mr. Truth ever made any mistakes, and he 
promptly said no. Seeing the passengers were 
all mixed up and that some seemed to like 
Mr. Falsehood as well as they did Mr. Truth, 
and some even liked him better, Mr. Thought 
asked Mr. Knowledge if any of the False- 
hood family ever worked in the office where 
they printed Mr. Truth's books, and he said that 
opened up a very important question. He said 
it was against even the High Judge's orders, 
but at times some of the head managers would, in 
his (Mr. Knowledge's) absence and without con- 
sulting him, employ some of them, and in such 
cases they would work a little, but as he was in 
the book business or at least sent the most of his 
messages through them, he was nearly always 
there, and when Mr. Truth was having any work 



70 

done he watched after setting the type himself. 
The only thing that could happen, in the case of 
the Falsehood labor getting in the office, was 
they might misplace or misappropriate a type, 
but never since the world stood had they de- 
stroyed the sense of what Mr. Truth was telling 
— that the words of Mr. Truth could not be blot- 
ted out of all the books, though the printer for 
any reason made a misprint. It happened just at 
this time a teacher came into Mr. Knowledge's 
office for something and was telling Mr. Knowl- 
edge about Mr. Falsehood making a speech, and 
said that Mr. Falsehood referred to Mr. Knowl- 
edge more than any other one, and boasted that 
he was well acquainted with Mr. Knowledge. He 
said that he had access and got the same informa- 
tion from Mr. Knowledge's office that Mr. Truth 
did, and told Mr. Knowledge that Mr. Falsehood 
proved it by some of his quotations, that he (Mr. 
Knowledge) had signed with his own hand. O, 
Yes, said Mr. Knowledge, but he failed to show 
the certificate signed by himself and Mr. Truth — 
that he (Falsehood) always had taken the privi- 
lege of taking from and adding to, law or no law, 
since he met the man and the woman on the 
bridge of life that was afterwards removed. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



But I continued to bother Mr. Mind, the con- 
ductor, about the controversy between Mr. Truth 
and Mr. Falsehood, and while in company with 
him (Mr. Mind) Mr. Thought came in with a 
gentleman that I had seen a great many times, 
mostly in company with Mr. Caution, but I had 
never had very much acquaintance with him my- 
self. But I told him about bothering Mr. Mind 
about a question that I asked Mr. Knowledge, 
who did not answer it, and the gentleman said 
maybe it was a foolish question or out of place or 
that he answered it anl I did not understand it. 
I told him I had asked Mr. Knowledge several 
questions and I was afraid they were so foolish 
he had grown tired of answering them. O, well, 
he said, if that's your trouble, you just take this 
card; it has my name, Prudence, printed on it and 
you always look at that before you ask a ques- 
tion, and the name on that card will keep you 
straight on the question business. After thank- 
ing him as politely as I knew how, I went on my 
way. Meeting up with Mr. Caution, I showed 
him the card and he said it was all right, but even 
after using that card then all my questions might 
not be answered. But I could not see why that 
could be so, and on my way I met a well dressed 
and a very intelligent looking gentleman and 



72 

lady, and I showed them my card and asked them 
about a certain school, as I wanted to go to it. 
They hardly looked at me, and went on and made 
me no answer at all. About that time Mr. Truth 
came along and Mr. Teller told him the whole 
circumstances, and Mr. Truth said it ought not 
to be so. He said that Mr. Prudence was a rela- 
tive and friend of the Knowledge family, and that 
card ought to have brought an answer, but he said 
from the beginning of the human family there 
were some of them that would take the "Big 
Head" and puff up. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



And then Mr. Thought told Mr. Truth all 
about how I came to have the card that I was 
bothering Mr. Mind (the conductor) with about 
that controversy between him (Mr. Truth) and 
that man Falsehood, and had asked Mr. Knowl- 
edge something about it once before. Mr. Truth 
looked at me and said you ought not to have been 
bothering Mr. Mind, but ought to have kept go- 
ing to Mr. Knowledge — that I had not done my 
part and if I would go and stay there and work in 
his office and continue to implore him, he would 
give me a full and complete history of the whole 
controversy. When he mentioned work, I asked 
him if Mr. Knowledge would hire me and pay me 
for the work, and Mr. Truth looked at me with 
no uncertain look, and said that word work, to 
secure Mr. Knowledge's advice and his help to 
guide us through life, was the stumbling block 
on which thousands on top of thousands had fall- 
en down, and never got up to make any further 
inquiry about the controversy between himself 
and Falsehood, nor anything else that made for 
the upbuilding of ourselves and our fellow beings. 
He further said if we would only do our part that 
we could obtain a sufficiency, or at least all the 
high Judge had capacitated us to use and all that 
he would require us to have, to appear in his 



74 

court, and that was really Mr. Knowledge's bus- 
iness and mission he had used him for since the 
world began; that wherever the children of men 
were, there was he (Knowledge); if they w T ould 
only seek him they could find him. While I was 
engaged with Mr. Thought, Mr. Caution came in 
and sat down, but had nothing at all to say, and 
being in Mr. Mind's office in conference with Mr. 
Thought, Mr. Falsehood stepped in and seeing 
me, advanced toward me and shook my hand 
seemingly more than glad to see me, and re- 
marked that he had not seen much of me for a few 
days. He patted me on the shoulder and gripped 
my hand all the tighter, which I did not see was 
anything out of the way, and really when it 
conies from a good source and by the right kind of 
people, I enjoy it and like to see it. But Mr. 
Falsehood went on to say he was glad to see me, 
again, and by the way he said Mr. Teller had told 
him I was reading a great deal, and he said he 
was delighted to know that, and remarked that 
he had a good many books, and asked me if I had 
ever read any of them. I told him not very much, 
but I had seen several of them. O, well he said, 
I ought to read them — I was missing the best part 
of my life. He said he wanted me to come to his 
office, he said he had a library that contained a 
choice collection that he had taken the pains to 
select himself, and they were interesting to most 
people, and thousands of the passengers would 
read no others. I incidentally pulled out of my 



75 

pocket the card that Mr. Prudence gave me 
thinking I would ask him who was the author of 
his books, and he noticed the card, and said, that 
thing is no good; that fellow Prudence has got 
nothing to do with my business. He said I have 
no restrictions about answering questions or ask- 
ing them, he said I would just as soon, and rath- 
er, have my private secretary Mr Folly's word on 
discretion or good manners, either, than that man 
Prudence, and he said Popular and Public In- 
fluence, two of the greatest authors in the land 
quoted Mr. Folly for authority as often as they 
did Mr. Prudence. Though, he said, on some oc- 
casions he used Mr. Prudence — that he was not 
prejudiced at all, — that at times Prudence suited 
his purpose the best. Then after asking me about 
some other societies, he asked me to what church 
I belonged, and being a little slow to tell him, he 
said well that did not make any difference any 
way, that one was as good as another, and that 
some of the brightest christians he ever knew did 
not belong to any church at all. He went on to 
say if they would do away with all the churches 
they had and come together in the right kind of a 
spirit, they would accomplish more good than 
they were doing under the present system. He 
said there were some of them, though not many, 
who did not want to read anything only that fel- 
low Truth's works. Then I saw Mr. Thought 
look at Mr. Caution and say something, and Mr. 
Conscience looked up. Then Mr, Thought took 



76 

hold of me, but Mr. Falsehood only looked 
around and said to me that at times that fellow 
Conscience was as blind as a bat, and couldn't 
hear it thunder. Then I made an effort to speak, 
and Mr. Falsehood said that fellow didn't amount 
to anything anyway, and then remarked in a low 
tone that he and that fellow Caution both were 
a draw back to the up-to-date class of people. 
But he said they were losing out as fast as could 
be reasonably expected. He said if they could get 
rid of that man Truth, they could get rid of that 
fellow Conscience- He said that fellow Con- 
science had caused many a passenger to pass a 
sleepless night, and said he had seen them roll and 
tumble as though they were in the worst kind of 
pain. He said yet some few would go on reading 
after that fellow Truth, and they who did were al- 
most certain to get tangled up with that fellow 
Conscience. He said sometimes some of his fol- 
lowers would get to reading after that fellow 
Truth and become so absorbed in his (Truth's) 
works that Conscience would slip up on them and 
get them in trouble, and then sometimes they 
would think what a good time they had spent 
with him, and would sometimes send for him, but 
he (Falsehood) said he had his first time to offer 
one of them who did that way any of his help, and 
said he would not help the best friend he had out 
of anything, if he depended on that fellow Truth. 
Then Mr. Conscience moved around where I 
could see him, and I looked and saw Mr. Truth 



77 

coming, and feeling very much relieved at his ap- 
pearance, I remarked that I saw his opponent 
coming and I would like to see them meet. No, 
he said, he did not want to meet him, and he 
(Falsehood) said he had talked longer than he 
aimed to; he must be going, and invited me to 
call on him. I asked him where he lived, and he 
said out on the broad ways. That seemed a famil- 
iar name and I was studying about it and he said 
it was easily found; that I could go to Mr. Wis- 
dom's office, and notice, he said, for a Mr. 
Wrong's name. He was the door-keeper and 
would lead me through, and that he lived down 
the broad road a little ways in a fine building, but 
by this time Mr. Truth was getting close enough 
to speak, but Falsehood went out the back way. 
But I noticed that all the time he had been talk- 
ing to me he was continually winking his eyes, 
which according to my understanding, indicated 
that there was something yet untold, and when 
a wag of the head or a shake of the ioot was ad- 
ded with a wink of the eye, it signified that there 
had been too much told or done already, and if 
too much of either, it meant to stop. But I was 
interrupted just at that time by Mr. Caution, who 
said that Mr. Truth was looking over the baggage 
pretty closely and I had better be careful about 
the batch that had been given to Mr. Mind for 
me, — that I got in this chapter, for it was the 
very worst character on the train of life- 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Now being in the neighborhood of the next 
station, Manhood, Mr. Mind in conversation with 
Mr. Thought about the change that would take 
place there, said that Mr. Mind would not only be 
the conductor, and Mr. Thought his chief porter, 
but to a certain measure they could run things as 
they pleased, (be a free man or woman of their 
own). Mr. Thought seemed very much delighted 
at the idea of the change. And at that time 
Mr. Caution spoke and said yes, it was delightful 
and grand to think about; that we had been per- 
mitted to make the run from the town of Infancy 
to Manhood without any serious mishaps to our- 
selves, and that he felt good and' felt in some in- 
stances that he would be relieved to some extent 
(and not have so much responsibility). But he 
said many a signal he had given between those 
two stations, and some of them had been heeded 
and many of them had not. He further said we 
had run over many a bad trussel and broken rail 
on the trip, and that while that fellow Danger 
would continue to slip in broken rails and under- 
mind the trussels, if the proper signals were not 
given, and the train of life would give Mr. Truth, 
the inspector time, they would move along reas- 
onably safe. But he went on to say that a whole 
lot depended on the baggage we tried to carry on 



79 

the train of life from Manhood on to the end of 
the line; as to whether we would be successful or 
not. Mr. Thought asked Mr. Caution what if a 
train of life were to leave the inspector, as it did 
sometimes for awhile, and get away from him ana 
happen to run on to the end of the line without 
him (the inspector), what would be the conse- 
quence? Mr- Caution said you ought to know 
better than to ask such a question, from your own 
experience, and he said don't you know that 
without any inspector the machinery would soon 
run down and break into pieces, and when it did 
break, don't you know that Mr. Truth has all the 
tools in existence that you can repair with? If 
you would just think of him being the inspector of 
the train of life, you would know that he has the 
right and does inspect the fuel that is used and 
the steam which furnishes the moving power , is 
the breath of life on our train, and he could cut 
off that entirely if he wished to, and from one end 
of the line to the other we would have all kinds of 
wrecks, and from the time before the ink on the 
tickets is dry for some of the passengers, and even 
before they saw Mr. Birth, the ticket agent, they 
have fallen off the train of life, and from there on 
to the city of Old Age or the end of the line, they, 
at every station on the road have fallen off. Then 
I asked what became of those who fell off. Mr. 
Truth being present, answered the question, and 
said there was a coach on that train that none 
ever entered but him and his kindred, and for the 



80 

little ones, just mentioned, he had arranged in 
the agreement with the high Judge, before the 
train of life ever started, for their safety, and in 
that agreement all of them who had no baggage, 
(no mind or impression, infants and insane), were 
safe. But he said the door to that coach for you, 
was opened only by repentance, and you had to 
go in by faith, and the keeper of that coach is 
your heart, and if you believed in him and asked 
admittance in the proper way, you could enter in. 
And also all that have fallen off of the train of 
life, had been picked up by Mr. Truth, the inspec- 
tor, and carried to that coach and will be carried 
on to the end of the line over the bridge of 
death, passed over that great gulf, and safely 
landed on that other shore in the beautiful land, 
where they will be restored to life that shall never 
end, and enjoy the fruit of all the happiness of the 
most blessed land that Mr. Knowledge has ever 
through Mr. Wisdom's office given us any idea of 
Mr. Truth says that should be our chief concern 
while on the train of life — to seek the only way, 
which is by him, to enter into that land. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

And after being with Mr. Hearing quite awhile 
and in the presence of Mr. Truth, and in Mr- 
Mind's office, still feeling a desire to know more 
of the much-talked-of controversy between Mr. 
Truth and Mr. Falsehood, I asked if it was still 
going on, and was informed that most assuredly 
it was. Just at this time there seemed to be a 
considerable stir and some confusion among the 
passengers, and on investigation I found that we 
were at Manhood station, and that the inspector 
was passing on the baggage, and that some of 
them would not pass, on account of the bad acts 
and deeds that had grown out of them. Some 
were sent to prison, some were charged so much 
fare they could not pay rt, and they too were put 
in jail and some of them were so bad they were 
passed up to Judge Power, who he sentenced 
them to be hung. Some were being separated 
from their acquaintances, others taking their final 
leave for the broad ways, out through Mr. 
Wrong's door; others hunting the broad ways, 
and any way they could find. Some were going 
down in utter despair, while some were calling on 
Mr. Truth, the inspector, and his followers. As 
many as had baggage that would pass the inspec- 
tion by the way of Mr. Right's door, in Wisdom's 
office, were given a good coach on the train of life, 



82 

with the promise of keeping it in their posession 
so long as they kept their baggage clean from the 
kind of acts and deeds that were not of an ex- 
plosive nature. As they had been informed be- 
fore, there was a kind of acts and deeds that 
would destroy all the bad baggage and by their 
good influence eat up and consume all the other 
kinds of acts and deeds that grew out of the bad 
baggage, and would to a great measure, if not al- 
together, heal up the scars where the bad kind 
had crawled. Thus the passengers started out 
from Manhood station, and after looking around 
I saw that I was on a very poor coach, but I saw a 
notice posted up in the coach, and the notice read : 
"You can get a better coach by inquiring at Mr. 
Knowledge's office." After consulting with Mr. 
Mind, the conductor, about my circumstances, 
Mr. Thought suggested that I make the effort. 
Noticing the train slowing down, the False- 
hoods and all their kindred and followers began 
to come out from the broad ways and get on 
board, and being surprised at that, and remember- 
ing the notice I saw in my coach, I went immed- 
iately to Mr- Knowledge's office, and on my ar- 
rival there I told him I wanted all the information 
that I could get that would do me any good on the 
train of life — that all of the Falsehoods and their 
connection and all of their followers were still on 
board the train of life. They pushed into every 
coach and position and secured all the room they 
could, and that it began to look to me as if my 



83 

trip was going to be a dull one. Mr. Knowledge 
said, young man, I am glad you came; you really 
stand in need of information and instruction. 
You were bothered over some things you did not 
understand, that no one knew what they were 
talking about, who ever said the Falsehoods and 
their followers would not be allowed to go on the 
train of life. But on the contrary, Mr. Truth him- 
self, had permitted them to get their tickets from 
Mr. Birth, but the distinction came in, with the 
tickets for rechecking the baggage, and the rules 
and regulations which were for the final good of 
all the passengers, and in every nation where that 
had been left out and Mr. Truth had been forgot- 
ten. They had suffered one wreck after another, 
until they finally ran off the track, and fell into 
the dark seas of Ignorance, where there was no 
light and nothing but barbarous struggling with 
each other for existence. 



CHAPTER XX. 

And then Mr. Knowledge said, young man, 
you have been to my office a few times and have 
made inquiries, and you have asked a few ques- 
tions, but you asked me some of them out of mere 
curiosity, and some you were really wanting to 
find out for a good purpose; some you could not 
have realized the full meaning of, if I had told you 
at the time, for I knew you needed some age and 
experience, though if you had never made the ef- 
fort you could have never known; and now that 
you have had some experience, if you still will try 
and are willing to work, there is an opening for 
you and every other passenger to get a good 
position all through life, either for yourself, or 
with others, and in every calling and profession. 
The training that you get here and the principle 
parts that you most need, have already been told, 
but it may be you don't comprehend it, and to 
start with, there are some things you must do and 
some things you must not do. There are some 
things you can do, or can not do, as you see fit — 
and in such cases is where I (Knowledge) am 
mostly needed. Mr. Knowledge said, the contro- 
versy you asked me about, if you will go to work 
in my office, you can learn all about, or at least 
all you are capacitated to know, and one of the 
things you must do is to regard the law of self 



85 

preservation. If you don't, the penalty is ruin to 
your person. One of the things you must not do 
is to abuse yourself and others- If you do, the 
penalty is ruin to your person. Of the things you 
can do, or can not do, is to come to me (Knowl- 
edge) for help, but there is one thing you must do, 
and you do it whether you know it or not. Just 
at that time Mr. Thought stepped in and I was 
asking him if he reckoned I could do any better 
by staying there, and Mr. Knowledge seeing and 
hearing this, called and said give heed, and I list- 
ened and he said; "Every word you speak is the 
truth, or it is a falsehood" for there is no middle 
ground and you are on one side or the other of 
this controversy, and for the first time Mr. Mind 
and Mr. Thought both witnessed that which was 
so, and Mr. Conscience rose up and expressed his 
unreserved sanction. At this point Mr. Truth 
spoke and said all of this is true, for that man 
Falsehood has no part with me whatever, and 
then I started to say something, but Mr. Caution 
spoke to me and said be careful what you say, and 
I withheld my tongue. Then Mr. Knowledge 
said there is something about you that you have 
made yourself, and it is something nobody can 
take away from you, if you have made it on the 
right plan, but whether you have made it on the 
good plan or the bad plan, you have made one, 
and, and its something that others may furnish 
the material to make it with, but you must do the 
work yourself. You may not have it completely 



86 

done, for its something you can change any day 
of your life in a few minutes, and its something 
that is worth more than land or money, if you 
have made it right, and are a follower and believ- 
er in Mr. Truth. It's something Mr. Falsehood's 
followers don't care anything about, and it's 
something that bad impressions will ruin if al- 
lowed to be stacked up in Mr. Mind's office until 
they form and grow into bad acts and deeds. It 
is something that the good impressions kept in 
Mr. Mind's office and let form into acts and deeds, 
and of that kind the more you feed on practice, 
the stronger it will make that thing, that you have 
made, grow. He then left off speaking, and Mr. 
Thought asked what that thing was. Mr. Knowl- 
edge said listen, it is your character. Then Mr. 
Thought said he knew of some good looking boys 
and girls and men and women that the best pass- 
engers on the road would not associate with, and 
I asked him if it was because their character was 
bad, and he said it might be that, but that was not 
the only reason that some had. Mr. Knowledge 
said there was a class of people that would slight 
you on account of your dress, but Mr. Truth's 
followers would not, if they knew you, but Mr. 
Knowledge said it was not the bad character that 
the other passengers made, that would hurt you. 
You are considered a chip off the old stump until 
you prove different. Mr. Thought asked Mr. 
Knowledge what he meant by that, and he said 
if your father or mother had a bad character, the 



87 

son or the daughter in some cases got enough 
material (bad impressions) from one or the other, 
or both, to cause the child to start their own char- 
acter bad, but. by seeking Mr. Knowledge for in- 
structions and staying with Truth, you can after 
all, make it right. Any of your kindred having 
built a bad character will cause your's to be in- 
spected closer. But since time began, Mr. Truth, 
the inspector, has never been known to turn one 
down that was built right. However, Mr. Knowl- 
edge said you could not be too careful about how 
you built it, for that man Falsehood had been to 
Mr. Wisdom's office for information to use in 
tearing down the young man or the young wo- 
man's character as often as he ever had for any- 
thing that he wanted to use, and if any of the fore- 
parents' character was not good, Mr. Falsehood 
would tell their offsprings that they need not try 
to make their's good, for they could not. But Mr. 
Knowledge said they had come to him thousands 
of times about that question, and he had pointed 
out example after example, and that Mr. Wisdom 
had stacked record upon record, and Mr. Truth 
had verified them, showing that it was something 
you could and must build yourself. You could 
build it good or bad, and you could build it with 
money or without it. You could build it in rags 
(said Mr. Caution, provided you would keep them 
clean) or you could build it in fine linen. Then 
Mr. Thought asked if building this character ap- 
plied to men and women alike, and Mr. Truth 



88 

spoke again and said he inspected one the same 
as the other, and it did not only mean men and 
women, but boys and girls — both male and fe- 
male. Just then Mr. Caution said that the women 
should be more careful than the man, not that it 
made any difference with Mr. Wisdom, or Mr- 
Truth, the inspector, but public influence mould- 
ed the sentiment. 



CHAPTER XXL 

Mr. Thought asked Mr. Knowledge how much 
longer he was going to keep me at work before 
he told me what I wanted to know, and Mr. 
Knowledge said, why he has just started out. 
But, said Mr. Thought, he wants to know about 
the controversy between Mr. Truth and Mr. 
Falsehood. Yes, said Mr. Knowledge, a contro- 
versy is always more or less excitable and thou- 
sands of passengers were satisfied with the ex- 
citement, regardless of the fects which were the 
one thing most needful. While Mr. Knowledge 
had been explaining that, several had been gath- 
ering around and the next thing I knew Mr. 
Chicanery had me by the hand, and asked if I 
was not the same one he had met before and 
was talking to about the book, and I remembered 
him. He said he had just been standing there 
listening at Mr. Thought talking to Mr. Knowl- 
edge about my wanting to know about that con- 
troversy, and said he had never known it to fail 
that when Knowledge got hold of a fellow it 
would take a man's natural life time to get 
through with him (Knowledge), and then he 
would not know it all. He further said if I were 
you, I would not stay here and work like you 
are; it won't do you any good, and he said I was 
missing a lot of fun by hanging around that fel- 



90 

low Truth and working for Knowledge. Said 
it was well enough for anybody to want an edu- 
cation, but he said there were plenty of schools 
all over the country, for that, and he believed 
in having a good time. Just then he said, by the 
way, I was in Mr. Falsehood's office the other 
day and Mr. Falsehood told me about meeting 
you there and he said you were more than an 
average chap, and he formed a fine opinion of 
you. He told me that he invited you to his of- 
fice, and if I were you, I would call on him some 
time. Just then some one in company with a 
very beautiful young lady passed by and stopped, 
and Mr. Chicanery introduced him to me, and 
called him his friend Sharper. He said to Mr. 
Sharper, this is the young man I was telling 
you about, Sharper. He said I was just telling 
him about that fellow Knowledge. He has got 
him soaked. Chicanery asked Sharper if he 
could not help him get me out of Knowledge's of- 
fice; that he would just keep me there, and keep 
me at work for him for nothing, when I could 
get out and get a job and make some money, and 
besides have a good time. Mr. Sharper said from 
what Chicanery had told him, I was like he used 
to be. He said wdien he first started out that he 
had been partly taught to think a fellow was not 
in it if he did not work for Knowledge and run 
to Mr. Truth all along, because he was the in- 
spector of the baggage, but he said it did not take 
him long to learn that such was no good, and he 



91 

said he laid all of that foolishness down. He soon 
learned that most of the people were getting 
along all right without him (Truth), and if they 
could, he could. Mr. Chicanery and Mr. Sharper 
agreed that since they had been at work for Mr. 
Falsehood and public influence, that they got as 
much pay. Then they said Falsehood and pub- 
lic influence were not so particular about their re- 
ports, while Chicanery said they, both Falsehood 
and Public Influence, kept some of Mr. Truth's 
connection or his followers employed all the time, 
to get up their statistics in cases where it had to 
be tested, but outside of that, they did not give 
a "baubee' for them. The young lady started 
to, and did sanction it, and said that the world 
was just a game of chance anyway, and she was 
in life for what there was in it. About that time 
a lad handed her a message, saying some of her 
near relatives had been killed or badly wounded, 
and she was requested to come at once. The pa- 
per was signed, Judas Falsehood, operator, and 
the lady by this time looked sad and was crying. 
But they found out who had sent the message, 
and Mr. Chicanery said by way of consolation 
that Judas might have made it worse than it real- 
ly was. Yes, said Mr. Sharper, I don't believe 
any thing I hear until I see it. There may not be 
anything of it. Judas might have taken on a lit- 
tle too much "booze'' (whisky), or just wanted to 
get up some excitement. About this time Mr. 
Truth passing by and said to the lady, have you 



92 

heard the news about your sister? She said I 
had a message from the operator, Judas False- 
hood, stating she was dead or would die. Yes, 
said Mr. Truth, the operator was to blame, he 
had your sister and some other young ladies in 
his private room, and they got to drinking and 
playing cards and for some reason put the lights 
out and he forgot his business, and when the in- 
spector found out the lights were out in the of- 
fice, he called to know what was wrong. The 
operator told him that some one had been in the 
office, and the inspector told him to turn on the 
lights. Judas, to get the young ladies out with- 
out their being detected and put to shame, sent 
them down the back stairway and your sister fell 
and is badly hurt. Truth then walked on, and 
the lady said I can't stand it; its more than I can 
bear. But Sharper repeated; it might not be so 
bad. But the young lady said, yes, Mr. Truth 
always tells it like it is. Mr. Sharper and Chica- 
nery said if that inspector had stayed away from 
that room there would have been nothing of it. 
Just then Mr. Knowledge said to a gentleman 
and lady that if the young ladies had been at 
home or their place of abode, and not been in 
that dark room with those young men, and the 
operator had been at his post of duty and kept 
sober, he would have kept the North and South 
bound trains from running together, which caus- 
ed the wreck of the two trains that killed a lot of 
innocent people. The jar of the two engines in 



93 

running together caused one of the boilers to 
explode, which cause was from negligence in the 
operator, and Falsehood said a lot of people 
would be foolish enough to think and say the 
whole affair was caused by the acts and deeds 
of the operator. Truth said the young lady told 
her mother that she was going over to visit a 
friend, and she believing it, felt safe about her 
daughter. Mr. Truth then said that thousands of 
mothers had felt safe about their daughters, and 
at the same time let them keep company with the 
Falsehoods, and as many as had done that, had 
eyes to see and saw not, and ears to hear and 
heard not, until it was everlastingly too late. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



By the next morning Public Influence had 
written a long detailed account of the affair, and 
had it published in the morning paper with large 
head lines, that said "A SAD AFFAIR/' and 
read like this: "Judas Falsehood, our popular 
operator, on yesterday invited some of his young 
friends over to his office to spend the evening, 
and while they were in the operator's private of- 
fice, enjoying some refreshments, that had been 
prepared for the occasion, some unknown party 
took advantage of the operator's absence from 
the main office, and ran in and blew the safe 
open, securing $1,000 of the company's money 
and other valuables. To accomplish their deeds 
without being caught, they turned off the elec- 
tric lights and that excited the young people, es- 
pecially the young ladies, and they in their haste 
to get away caused the sad accident of the young 
lady, Miss Extortion, in running down the stair- 
way to get hurt by a fall that may be the cause of 
her losing her life. The operator was $een this 
morning, and he stated to a news agent that he 
was not informed of any special train going to 
run, and that was the reason he did not give any 
signal." And so the public generally accepted 
that statement, and it was afterwards learned 
that one of Mr. Falsehood's agents was at or 



95 

near the operator's office and had verified the 
above statement and with many expressions of 
sorrow, that ended the excitement. After that 
there was a little "Notice" posted in Mr. Knowl- 
edge's office by Mr. Truth, though never seen by 
a great many people, that read like this : "The 
young lady who was hurt by a fall is now suffer- 
ing in Mr. Mind's private office, and her parents 
and near relatives are with her in Mr. Mind's 
office, very much troubled. The young lady was 
very beautiful and one of the society leaders and 
of a good family, but had been allowed to keep 
company with the Falsehoods and their connec- 
tion. They being an enemy to Mr. Caution, and 
through their influence the young lady had also 
ignored Mr. Caution and his advice, and that has 
caused the good women to condemn her acts and 
deeds, knowing as the good women do, that Mr. 
Caution lays the foundation of their character 
on which they must build, and they also realize 
the fact that Mr. Caution, while its in a crude 
state, furnishes our dear, blessed mothers, wives 
and sisters the material of which they make their 
own characters, and the brightest and best of 
them that are made are built out of piety, vir- 
tuousness and chastity, and w T hen they are made 
out of that material they always have a virgin 
appearance." 

After Mr. Knowledge read the notice, he look- 
ed up toward the High Judge and said that was 
one of the most valuable assets to his office and 



96 

that every woman on the train of life ought to 
read it. But he said, there are so many out-door 
sports to decoy them of! that thousands of them 
would never read it. Then for a matter of record 
Mr. Truth wrote in a book and said that Judas 
Falsehood had willfully planned this meeting 
with the young lady, without the knowledge of 
her father and mother, and in so doing had also 
made a chance for his kindred, the Thief family, 
to not only rob the company of its money and 
other valuables, but had also robbed this poor 
girl of her character. Her father and her mother 
and near relatives were robbed of the peace and 
pleasure in Mr. Mind's office that they had in 
there before the young lady got hurt, and False- 
hood had also by his acts and deeds, that had 
been fed on indulgence and practice, caused the 
wreck that resulted in the death of a number of 
innocent people, and caused the explosion of the 
boiler that had wounded thousands of others. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



When Mr. Truth was through writing in the 
book, Mr. Knowledge gave Mr. Caution an order 
and told him to take it to Mr. Wisdom's office 
and have printed another large edition of the 
title tracts, the title of which was "Watch and 
See," and send them to Mr. Mind, the 
conductor. Tell him to send them to every 
passenger (and especially the mothers) on the 
train of life, and be sure the} 7 get them. Send 
them by Mr. Thought, and Mr. Caution said so 
mote it be. Mr. Knowledge then looking at Mr. 
Truth, who was smiling, gave it his sanction. 
But Mr. Falsehood being in the office at this 
time hurried out and went ahead to Mr. Wis- 
dom's office, hearing the order that Mr. Knowl- 
edge gave Mr. Caution, and when Mr. Caution 
arrived at Mr. Wisdom's office with the order, 
Mr. Falsehood was there talking to Mr. Wisdom 
and telling him that another large edition of 
those tracts, the title of which was, "Watch and 
See," had been ordered, and that he and all whom 
he had talked to wanted the title of the book 
changed, and instead of it being "Watch and 
See" they wanted the title (which did not amount 
to much) changed to "TAKE IT FOR GRANT- 
ED." Just at that point Mr. Wisdom suggested 
that if he (Falsehood) and all the rest wanted 



98 

the title changed, who wanted the book printed 
under the name "Watch and See?" Who gave 
the order for it to be printed under the original 
name, "Watch and See"? O, Said Mr. Falsehood, 
not all but nearly everybody. Mr. Falsehood 
went on to give some reasons why he wanted the 
title changed, and said that in this enlightened 
age there were several different kinds of ideas on 
the train of life — that it was a day of competency 
and ability, and that it showed a loss of confi- 
dence to always be spouting the word "Watch" 
or the word "See." He said under our standard 
of morals, its a national shame to hear so much 
about Watch or See. To illustrate, Mr. False- 
hood said, if your daughter was to dress and start 
out to church, yould you not feel ashamed to send 
some one to watch her? Then Mr. Wisdom said, 
Falsehood, if it was in your power you would de- 
ceive even me, and went on to tell Mr. Falsehood 
that he was not only trying to change the title 
of the book, but was trying to change the mean- 
ing of the words. Then Mr. Wisdom asked Mr. 
Falsehood if his daughter was to start to churcti 
or any where else, if he (Falsehood) would not 
want some one to watch and see that she was 
protected, if there was any cause to think she 
would be hurt or molested. Mr. Falsehood said 
I don't know, to which Mr. Wisdom replied, you 
do know. Mr. Wisdom then asked Mr. False- 
hood if he did not love his mother, his wife, his 
sisters and his own daughters, and Falsehood 



99 

said he did. Then can you say you don't want 
any authority or power from your government 
to watch and see that the ones you say you love 
are protected? Falsehood said I don't know, and 
Mr. Wisdom said, you do know. Then said Mr. 
Falsehood again, its mighty embarassing to our 
young people in this enlightened age to think 
they are living under guard and somebody watch- 
ing to see all they do. 

At this juncture Mr. Truth stepped in Mr. 
Wisdom's office, and he heard the last part of 
Falsehood's argument, and said : Falsehood, was 
the young lady who got hurt not a niece of yours ? 
and Falsehood said she was. Mr. Truth said 
then, if you had known that deceiver Extortion 
and your niece had been telling your brother 
and sister, her mother and father, that she was 
going to visit some friends, and you knew she 
wasn't, and was going to get hurt, would you 
have told them better? Falsehood said it depend- 
ed on circumstances. Mr. Truth asked him what 
kind of circumstances, but Falsehood would not 
say. Then Mr. Truth asked him if he had seen 
his niece going down that dark alley, would he 
have stopped her, and kept her from going? and 
he said he did not know. Then Mr. Truth asked 
Mr. Falsehood when he had seen Mr. Conscience, 
and Mr. Falsehood said he had not seen him in 
some time — that he (Falsehood) had been both- 
ered with him in the past, but he had given him 
to understand that he did not want him in his 



100 

company any more, and that while that fellow 
Caution had favored him some by way of warn- 
ing, he has always also warned others that he 
could manage, if Caution would keep his mouth 
shut. Then Mr. Truth asked Mr. Falsehood one 
more question. He asked him if he had ever 
seen a child that was blind, and Mr. Falsehood 
said I have one of my own that has to be led 
everywhere it goes. Then Mr. Truth said who 
sees that it don't fall and get hurt, and Falsehood 
said the whole family. Then Mr. Truth said who 
watches for the child and sees that its fed and 
clothed and attended to in every way? and False- 
hood said myself and my whole family. Then 
Mr. Wisdom said Falsehood, you stand condemn- 
ed in your own words, and I will print the book 
in its original title, "Watch and See/' Mr. Truth 
then told Mr. Wisdom to add in the margin of 
the book these words, "If the parents had watch- 
ed the child, they would have seen it in bad com- 
pany; if the parents had watched the child and 
seeing it being led off into trouble, they would 
have brought it or tried to bring it back, and if 
the mother had watched her daughter going 
down the dark alley and seen her going down into 
trouble, she would have brought her back; it the 
mother could see the danger of her daughter be- 
ing led off in a dark room, she would not let her 
go ; if she could see the thief that would steal her 
daughter's brightest jewel (her character), and 
it was in her power, she would not let him take 



101 

it; if the operator had watched, he would have 
seen the message that the special train would run, 
and there would have been no trouble, and if the 
parents do their duty to their children, they will 
"Watch and See." 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

But being in company with Mr. Thought, I 
asked him how long did he suppose it would be 
before Mr. Knowledge would tell me about that 
controversy between Mr. Truth and Mr. False- 
hood, and he said he did not know. Mr. Thought 
suggested that I ask Mr. Knowledge, that if I 
wanted to go back to my coach, I could tell Mr. 
Knowledge so and maybe that would hurry him 
tip. So I asked Mr. Knowledge if he was ready 
to describe the controversy yet. Mr. Knowledge 
said, did you ever read that little book on obser- 
vation, and I said yes; and he said did you un- 
derstand it? I said to some extent, and he said 
can you remember anything you read in it? I 
said yes, I can remember some things I read it it. 
He said can you tell something of what you read? 
I said yes, I remember the case where Mr. False- 
hood told Mr. Mind, the conductor, that the pas- 
sengers on the train of life would and could do 
as well without Mr. Truth as with him, and that 
Mr. Truth claimed that he was furnishing the 
light on the train of life, and that he (Falsehood) 
and the passengers wanted Mr. Truth side-track- 
ed and to run on without him, and the officers 
agreed to it, and ran through a place called 
Heathen Nation. As soon as the passengers had 
time to forget Mr. Truth, Mr. Falsehood and his 



103 

brothers and his connection found out it was dark 
before any of the rest did. They commenced to 
steal, rob, drink and get drunk, and kill each 
other, and wag their heads and say, we don't 
want this man Truth to furnish his light and they 
said he is not here to inspect the baggage and it 
don't matter about our acts and deeds. We like 
this way; we can have all the laws changed, and 
in the dark there is no evil to come to us. They 
went on in the dark living in adultery and 
through their ignorance they made war on each 
other, and they took all the weaker tribes — had 
even their wives, and took their children and eat 
them, and they slew them on the altar of witch- 
craft and Idolatry, and went on until the High 
Judge had to stop them. He, the Judge, issued 
orders for them to return at once, or he would 
destroy every one of them, and the High Judge 
sent pilots and guards to take them back, and 
yet some of them refused to go, saying, we love 
this darkness, we are not bothering about our 
baggage and our acts and deeds, though they 
have been arrested and the pilots and guards are 
still bringing them back yet. I also read in the 
book of observation that some said they would 
die there before they would come back, and some 
who did come wanted to stay there. Others who 
came back are still dissatisfied. I read where it 
said that some of the younger generation, born 
on the train of life since then, still had a desire 
to go back to that place. Then Mr. Knowledge 



104 

asked me if I understood what I read, and I told 
him not altogether. Well, he said, that is a part 
of the controversy and I can tell you all about it, 
but for it to do you any good you must study it 
for yourself. I will furnish you the information, 
but you must realize the facts for yourself. He 
said there was a line drawn that some called 
civilization, some called it morality, and some 
called it law; and to any of these names all agreed 
it was good to govern the passengers. All agreed 
that Mr. Wisdom should keep the contract, and 
that he (Knowledge) should at any time he was 
called on, read and explain any part of that con- 
tract that any passenger did not understand and 
wanted to know. It was also agreed that the con- 
tract should be kept in Mr. Wisdom's office, and 
not carried out of the High Judge's jurisdiction. 
That Mr. Truth, being before the train of life 
ever run, or the earth on which it runs, was ever 
made, he (Mr. Truth) was made the witness to 
that contract, and even Mr. Wisdom himself, and 
he (Knowledge) were also forced by that agree- 
ment to adhere strictly to Mr. Truth's word, or 
suffer the penalty of the High Judge's court, and 
all other courts, if Mr. Truth's was present. Mr. 
Knowledge said that it was further stipulated in 
that contract that all hands had a right to come 
to him any time they wished to make inquiries 
about it. Mr. Thought asked Mr. Knowledge if 
that contract was made by the passengers on the 
train of life, and he said, no, it was made for the 



105 

passengers on the train of life. Then Mr. 
Thought asked Mr. Knowledge who made that 
contract, and Mr. Knowledge said before time 
was, that contract was, and that he him- 
self and Mr. Wisdom were only used in 
making it, with Mr. Truth as the witness, 
and that they were all given for the use 
of the human family and for their good. Mr. 
Thought asked Mr. Knowledge if that contract 
had ever been violated, and he said it had, and 
Mr. Thought asked him who by, and he said by 
Mr. Falsehood. Mr. Thought asked him when 
and where, and Mr. Knowledge said the first 
account the passengers had of it was when Mr. 
Falsehood met the man and the woman on the 
first bridge of life and was talking to them about 
the fruit. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

As it was a custom of mine to go to Mr. 
Thought when I learned anything new, or was in 
trouble, and ask him about it, I requested him to 
ask Mr. Knowledge if I could go out and make 
some investigations for myself. Mr. Knowledge 
answered and said yes, you have the liberty under 
the contract to go out — even into the broad ways, 
to investigate, but you do not have my consent. 
He said there was once a man chosen by the High 
Judge to be a King, and he was anointed King 
of a great people. He raised a son and sent him 
to me (Knowledge) when he was quite young, 
and the young man asked the High Judge for me 
to be his companion. The young man's father 
(the old King) died, and the young man was 
made King, and he stayed with me and ruled his 
people well, and the High Judge favored him 
and gave him alllie asked, and more besides, and 
he almost learned the contract as it was written 
in the record in Mr. Wisdom's office. But be- 
tween the town of Manhood station and the city 
of Old Age, he did just what you are tempted to 
do now, go out and leave me and investigate for 
himself, and the result of that act and deed of 
that great man was to overcome him in tempta- 
tion after he left me, and as you have already 
learned, I am forced by the High Judge, Mr. 



167 

Truth being the witness, that if I was called on 
to explain all or any part of the record, the record 
shows that this great man after he left me went 
astray. After knowing me almost perfectly, 
where will you go if you leave me after only hav- 
ing a slight acquaintance. Then Mr. Conscience 
looked at me with a keen eye, and Mr. Caution 
said to Mr. Thought, take hold of this poor ignor- 
ant young man, and hold him here until he can 
see Mr. Truth. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Again, in company with Mr. Thought, I felt 
very much shocked at what I had seen, and Mr. 
Hearing told me about being ignorant. I had 
been suggesting to Mr. Thought, even before I 
got to Manhood station, that I was an offspring 
or a descendant of that king's son, who made a 
king of himself; and that, too, was before I hard- 
ly knew there was a Mr. Knowledge. I had also 
suggested to Mr. Thought that if I could just 
barely get my baggage to pass inspection that I 
was not only competent to take care of myself on 
the journey, but wanted to advise others. And 
after I got to Manhood, I felt that I was not only 
competent to manage my affairs, but that I was 
above the ordinary, and for smartness an excep- 
tion to the rule. But after Mr. Knowledge told 
me about the wise man leaving him, and where he 
went, and then asking where would I go if I left 
him with no more of his instructions than I had, 
I fell back on Mr. Thought, as though I was not. 
But Mr. Knowledge said there was a blank line 
left in the contract, just after the word under- 
standing, and all the passengers names are signed 
on that blank line, and that part of the contract 
reads thus: "Through the Knowledge of the 

High Judge, Mr. Truth, understanding 

(on this blank line your name is written) and 



109 

knows who loves him and who obeys his great 
command, and he knows every passenger on the 
train of life," and there is another blank line in 
that contract on which you must sign your own 
name, and that reads thus : "Through the knowl- 
edge of the High Judge, knowing and under- 
standing Mr. Truth, I have kept 

his words." 

The last consideration of that contract is, that 
Mr. Truth, being the inspector and the living wit- 
ness, must sign it himself before it can have tne 
great seal of the High Judge. Mr. Knowledge 
said this contract must be filled out somewhere 
on the road between the bridge of life and the 
bridge of death, and Mr. Knowledge asked me 
if I was ready to sign my name before I went out 
to investigate for myself. I said I am inclined 
towards Mr. Truth. So far so good, said Mr. 
Knowledge, but do you understand him, and I 
said if you will explain the controversy between 
him (Mr. Truth) and Mr. Falsehood I might un- 
derstand Mr. Truth better. Then Mr. Knowl- 
edge said you have read the little book of "Ob- 
servation" and that explains it, and you have 
read the little tract on "Watch and See" and that 
explains it, (the Controversy) and besides that I 
have explained that controversy to thousands and 
thousands of people, and they knew it and under- 
stood the controversy. They knew Mr. Truth, 
but they refused to understand his words and 
keep them, but to the contrary denied them and 



110 

said they (his words) were not so, and followed 
off after Mr. Falsehood. Mr. Truth being not 
only the witness, but the inspector of the bag- 
gage (impressions), the acts and deeds produced 
by them, and being the owner of the orchard, 
knows what kind of fruit you bring to him. Then 
for the time being Mr. Knowledge left off speak- 
ing- 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



Then I looked at Mr. Thought who was look- 
ing" very solemn, and I asked him if he was in 
trouble. He said yes, and leaned over on Mr. 
Mind, the conductor, and said I know not what 
to tell you to do; I am exhausted, and he said Mr. 
Knowledge will not give his consent for you to go 
out the broad ways and investigate for yourself. 
It seemed that he wanted to explain it to you him- 
self, and I am at loss to know what to do or where 
to go, and started to wander off. But Mr. Cau- 
tion caught him and said, you have been warned 
about leaving Mr. Knowledge, but Mr. Thought 
insisted on moving about, sometimes backward 
and sometimes forward, and that being at a time 
when Mr. Mind (the conductor) was unsettled 
and was wandering through all the coaches on the 
train of life, in almost a prostrated condition. Just 
at this time I heard the sound of many words and 
I asked from whence do these words come. Then 
Mr. Knowledge spoke again and said the multi- 
tude of the words are coming from all the coaches, 
but listen, and see if you can tell the voice of any 
of them that are talking. I heard a gentle voice 
that I had heard before, and the words were: "Be 
not troubled, and keep my words, and the coach 
will not wreck." Then Mr. Thought revived and 
said, that is Mr. Truth talking in the coach with 



112 

Mr. Heart. Then I had a desire to get on that 
coach, and. Mr. Caution said, in that car if you 
will keep the words of Mr. Truth, you are safe, 
and Mr. Conscience gave it his approval. Mr. 
Caution said I will help you keep them, and I 
started that way. But losing the sound of the 
words, I was wandering, and behold he met me 
and I told him I was going to where he was talk- 
ing, and he said come on. He went through Mr. 
Wisdom's office and went in at Mr. Right's door 
and to the coach that Mr. Heart was in, and said 
Mr. Heart would have to be changed; that the 
coach he was then in was not safe. In the coach 
where Mr. Heart would be, his (Mr. Truth's), 
name was written, and it will never be destroyed, 
and you will understand my name and then you 
can abide in the coach to the end of the line. That 
coach will run onto the bridge of death and this 
coach will be destroyed but I will transfer you on 
a new coach that will run over the bridge of death 
on a track layed in faith, a new substance which 
grows strong in my name, by the power of the 
High Judge, who fixed the plans for its construc- 
tion, and he had all power to keep it in repair, that 
being a part of the contract the High Judge can 
not and will not violate it. And Mr. Truth said^ 
if I understand him I could get in and that by my 
understanding him and keeping his words, he 
would indorse my name and cause the great seal 
of the High Judge to be put on my part of the 
contract. That done it would be my transfer 



113 

ticket that would carry me over the great gulf 
and into the beautiful land where all would be 
pleasant, where we would not need any baggage 
to be bothered with. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

But on my way I met Mr. Falsehood and he 
asked me where I was going. I told him and he 
said that was all right, but he said I had plenty of 
time for that, and he would be glad for me to go 
out his way, but I said no. He insisted and said 
I would have plenty of time, and that they had 
good literature there, they had all kinds of books 
to read, and I asked him if he had any of Mr. 
Truth's books there. He said yes, I could find 
them there, he said a great many of his people's 
fathers and mothers used to read Mr. Truth's 
books, and the younger generation had them 
there for a keepsake of their foreparents, though 
they did not read them much — especially the so- 
ciety people out on the broad ways. He said he 
had some books that he thought would interest 
me and if I wanted to read after Mr. Truth any, 
that Public Influence had some with a great deal 
of Mr. Truth's words in them, and some of them 
quoted Mr. Truth so much that most of the peo- 
ple could not tell the difference at all. They were 
so near all of Mr. Truth's writing that only a few 
fogies who had been with Truth so much that 
they understand him, could tell any dif- 
ference. He said they were foolish about 
his words and they kept them, and you 
can't get them away from that way of 



115 

thinking and believing. Just then he hand- 
ed me some literature that he wanted me to look 
over and read, and he thought I would be pleased 
with it. Then Mr. Caution spoke and said be 
careful about what kind of impressions you get, 
as you know they will have to be inspected. But 
Mr. Falsehood said the majority of the people in 
this fast age wanted something up to date and 
tasty, and said that Mr. Truth's works were go- 
ing to play out in this country, as they had in 
other countries — that no doubt, in his opinion, 
some of the records that Mr. Truth drew his 
statistics from never existed at all ,and if they 
did, doubtless a great many misprints had been 
made and that a great many knew that it might 
have been made up by smart men, and he said 
the people were growing better every day, and 
they had gotten to the point where they did not 
want to be pinned right down as though they 
could not be relied upon. Mr. Truth was never 
satisfied until you made full proof of everything, 
and if you did not he would reject it entirely, and 
said some of the best people in the land were 
leaving a part of Mr. Truth's works off, while 
some were willing to respect him and take his 
counsel in part, but thought he exacted too 
much. He said that he would be on that special 
coach right then, but Mr. Truth just had one 
certain way to let them on it, and he said he 
would not bow down to anyone, to have the wise 
people criticising him, and he said he had taught 



116 

his people or followers in such a way that they 
were scared to death of the high Judge. They 
were afraid to handle his name only in praising 
him. But Mr. Falsehood said he (Mr. Truth) did 
not have as many who believed in him as he 
thought he did, that a great many of them read 
his book who did not believe all he said. He then 
laughed and said that many of them read his book 
and were a member of his (Falsehood's) institu- 
tions, and claimed they were in the line with 
him, but it was just to get their baggage through. 
He said there was a part of the original contract 
that was of a civil nature, and all parties had 
agreed to abide by that part of it, and Mr. Truth 
being a witness to it, they had to abide by it. That 
they had enough to enforce it, and that being the 
case when Mr. Truth's side was in the courts, 
Judge Power had to instruct the officers and the 
jury to that effect, and by reason of that, they 
won some cases. And he said that had the same 
effect in the elections when the Truth side could 
get any hold. In many cases his agents would 
get together and fix a scheme that would dodge 
them and get the other side (Mr. Truth's) be- 
wildered, and Public Influence would make his 
opinion public in many cases vote the readers and 
followers of Mr. Truth. He said that a whole 
lot of those who got in with his (Truth's) fol- 
lowers would keep posted, and they being in his 
institutions would have a big influence over those 
that really meant it. In some cases they would 



117 

carry a part of Mr. Truth's own followers, but 
he said if Mr. Truth's real followers caught up 
with those who led them of! that his (False- 
hood's) side could and did have an understanding 
and pretended that they were as badly fooled as 
anybody, and as a rule that settled it, but Mr. 
Falsehood said the main thing was to keep from 
being caught up with. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

And he said that when they did catch up with 
one of his (Falsehood's) men, it did not matter 
who it was nor what he had done for his side, if 
he let Truth or any of his followers catch him, 
that he (Falsehood) and all of his connection and 
followers would drop him, if he repented of his 
errors and in earnest submitted to Mr. Truth. 
He said if he was going along with one of his fel- 
low creatures and he fell in a ditch, it wasn't any 
of his business to help him out. Mr. Falsehood 
said that was the beauty of what he thought was 
his liberty, his right and privilege. He said he 
got his ticket on the train of life like everybody 
else did, and what he bought and paid for he 
had a right to do as he pleased with it. If he 
bought a gun and paid for it, he had a right to 
carry it, and if anybody bothered his business 
and he could shoot them before they did him^ 
who's business was it? While for policy sake, he 
did not do it when he thought there was any 
danger of the other side (Truth's) catching up 
with him. But his brother Murderer would shoot 
them right in front of their eyes if he had enough 
of his followers (Falsehood's) there to prove him 
out of it. That he nor any of his side cared so 
much about the court of the high Judge. Mr. 
Falsehood went on to say that if he wanted to 



119 

make his corn or any other of his products into 
whiskey and drink it, and sell it or give it away 
even to minors, it was nobody's business. If he 
wanted to get drunk and beat his wife and child- 
ren or whip anybody else or shoot somebody, 
whose business was it? It was his whiskey, his 
family and his gun. But for reasons given above, 
he did not do it, but his brother they called 
Drunkard would and did do it, and if Mr. Truth 
or his followers did not have point blank evi- 
dence Judge Power turned him loose in 
lots of cases, and especially when Public 
or Popular Influence rendered his opinion 
and it was strong endugh to create a 
sentiment in his brother's favor. Mr. False- 
hood went on to say that trading had gone on 
ever since the world began and it was his right 
and privilege to trade with whom he pleased, and 
if he sold a widow an article for twice what it 
was worth, whose business was it? They got a 
ticket on the train of life the same as he did, and 
it was his right and privilege to sell at whatever 
he wanted to, and if he could trade with the law- 
making power and use his money to buy them 
in and influence legislation, so he could force peo- 
ple to pay his prices, whose business was it? For 
policy sake, I don't do jt, when I think there is 
any danger of Mr. Truth's followers finding it 
out, but I have a brother, the one they call Ex- 
tortion, who will. Falsehood said if you have a 
loving daughter that you have sat over night 



120 

after night, and watched her suffer with a scorch- 
ing fever and rolling to and fro from one side of 
the cradle to the other, and she is spared, and 
you deny yourself to educate her, and she is fair 
and beautiful to behold, and if my son or myself 
is cunning and sly enough to entice her away by 
deceitful words and sworn promises, to decoy her 
off and ruin her, and thereby send a worn out 
mother to a grave of tears, and bow a father 
down to a life of sorrow, whose business is it but 
mine? Mr. Truth or his followers overtake me 
and I with my followers go in the courts and deny 
Mr. Truth and hold up our right hands to the, 
court and Mr. Truth and then with our tongues 
tell anything to get out of the clutches of that 
civil part of the contract, whose business is it? 
Its our right and privilege. ' I won't run the risk, 
unless the chances are in my favor, but my broth- 
er Whoremonger will, and if my brother Robber 
can steal money or anything else to help us out, 
he will do it. If my brother Extortion can bribe 
a witness or use his money in any way to get us 
out, he will do it. And furthermore any of them, 
(his connection) will stand by a friend as long 
as he will stand up to them and not surrender 
Truth. Falsehood said further that they did not 
want to go into the courts, if they could keep out, 
for several reasons. One was that it caused some 
of their friends to be embarrassed, as some of 
them stood in with Mr. Truth's side, and some 
of them belonged or had signed their names to 



121 

that part of the contract that Mr. Truth would 
have to approve in the high court. He said that 
Mr. Truth had. one institution that had given him 
no little trouble, and at some station he had 
fought it, and sometimes it had been the best 
policy to favor it and get as many of his side into 
it as he could, in order to control if possible, or 
at least have a sufficient number in it to keep it 
from having any effect. But he said he had an- 
other class in Mr. Truth's institution that were 
followers of him, and they did not know it. He 
said Popular Influence, Public's brother, had the 
best control over them, for Popular Influence was 
strictly moral and when some of them got into 
Mr. Truth's institutions, they of course did not 
understand him (Mr. Truth), and -as he was so 
particular he would not accept a great many 
things that they advocated, and neither would 
they who did understand Mr. Truth accept them. 
But he said before I made up my mind, he want- 
ed me to come over to the broad ways and see for 
myself. He said he would injure me a fine time 
and all the amusement and fun I wanted, and he 
wanted me to come over. But Mr. Thought sug- 
gested that Mr. Truth was nearly always in Mr., 
Wisdom's office, and so were Mr. Caution and 
Mr. Conscience, and as I had been with Mr. Truth 
some, it might be embarrassing to go. O, said 
Mr. Falsehood, there are a thousand ways to go 
without going through Mr. Wisdom's office. By 
the way, he said, I have a book for those who re- 



122 

fuse to go to Knowledge or Wisdom either, 
made especially for the unlearned, and he said it 
is taught by signs — by the shaking and moving 
of the feet, by a nod of the head and a winking of 
the eye. Why, he said my brother Drunkard has 
whiskey joints right in the main business part 
of some of the best towns on this road, and by 
motions and signs the most ignorant man or wo- 
man can tell what he has to sell, though the front 
part of the establishment may be a pool room, a 
peanut stand, a soda fount, or sometimes a gro- 
cery or dry goods store. But just then Mr. Cau- 
tion spoke to me and said I had better be going, 
and Mr. Thought reminded me that I was not 
going where I started, and that I had also left Mr. 
Knowledge. Mr. Falsehood said he would see me 
again, but not returning to Mr. Knowledge's of- 
fice at that time, and getting out on the train of 
life, I in company with Mr. Thought kept going 
a little further and further, meeting first one and 
then another, some I knew and some I did not 
know. I spent some time going on from place to 
place, having a good time and began to get in- 
terested, and kept meeting some that I knew. 
Seeing what I had on the train of life and what 
Mr. Hearing had told me, Mr. Thought said these 
people are pretty good folks and they treated me 
nice and kind, and besides they are so friendly. 
Mr. Thought kept saying we are having a good 
time, but one night I was invited to a "Shindig'* 
or dance or an entertainment of some kind — I 



123 

did not know what — but at any rate Mr. Thought 
wanted to go, and I followed after him and went 
too, and when I got there I saw that some of Mr. 
Truth's distant relatives were there. Some I had 
met before and was acquainted with. I was in- 
troduced to others and also to some of the False- 
hoods and some of the Knownothings, some of 
the Ignorant people and some of the Sharpers, 
some of the Deceivers and some of the Hypocrit 
people, and after I looked around awhile, I saw 
some of the Drunkard family, and the affair 
seemed to be pretty well arranged. Some of the 
Wisdom and Knowledge family were there, and 
I met a lot of young people that I was surprised 
to see there, as it was just on the edge of the 
broad ways. But in due course of time, the music 
started and the young men and young ladies 
formed a circle and started out on the program 
with great glee. It was very entertaining and so 
much so that I forgot all else for the time being,, 
and during the recess from the games and the 
performances generally, I was Invited into the 
dining room to enjoy some refreshments, and 
while there in company with a young Miss Cau- 
tion I asked her how she was enjoying herself, 
and she said reasonably well, but that she was 
informed that the Drunkard family was not to 
be invited, and said the landlord's daughter told 
.her since she arrived there that they heard of it 
and came anyhow. She said her father in sa 
many words did not absolutely object to her com- 



124 

ingybut gave her brother strict orders in case ot 
any misconduct in any way, for him to carry her 
home at once. Just at this time young man False- 
hood and his partner, just over to our left, over- 
heard the conversation and spoke and said there 
would not anything go wrong, that those people 
were drinking a little, but they were all right and 
good friends and suggested to young Miss Cau- 
tion to not be worried. While she seemed to not 
put much confidence in what he said, she became 
a little more reconciled, and on the way back to 
the parlor I asked her if that young man lived 
there, and she said no. I said he seems to be well 
acquainted with the situation, and she said he is, 
I suppose, but you can't depend on what he says. 
Just at that time I met Mr. Thought and he sug- 
gested that I was in good company, but when we 
returned to the parlor the music was in full sway 
and the young ladies and young men were lining 
up for another set or cotillion or reel or what- 
ever it was, but Mr. Hearing told me to look over 
on the other side of the parlor at some of the big- 
gest people I ever saw. I looked and they were 
making all kinds of motions and waging their 
heads and looking at first one and then another 
and winking their eyes and saying all sorts of 
things, and I asked a young Miss Knowledge who 
they were, and she said their name was Folly. 
Mr. Thought looked at me and said here is Mr. 
Mind, and I remembered, and just at this time 
one of the Knownothings stepped up to one of 



125 

the Falsehoods and said to him that he had mis- 
represented affairs to him, and wanted an explan- 
ation. Young Falsehood (the same one who told 
young Miss Caution not to worry) denied it, and 
young Knownothing insisted that he said it, and 
they began a general dispute, and soon had some 
hot words. Those big Follies took a hand, and 
next the Drunkards, and one of the Ignorant 
3^oung men, and by this time the landlord ordered 
the whole pack out of his house, and after con- 
siderable parlying he got them out. But while I 
was watching the confusion, the Wisdoms, the 
Truths, and the Knowledges, and all of their con- 
nection, had taken their departure. The young* 
Indies of the Falsehood family were scared and 
cryhig, their brothers being a party to the trou- 
ble, and when they finally got it quieted down, as 
far as all the passengers could see, young False- 
hood and Folly had secured a gun from a young 
mr;n by the name of Murderer, young Falsehood's 
cousin, and Folly getting the gun in his posses- 
sion let it fire, and the bullet struck a man they 
said was named Temperate. Of course the report 
went out about what had hapened and how it 
happened, and it was carried by the Falsehood 
and everybody else who knew it. On my return 
I went into Mr. Mind's office and while in there 
Mr. Truth and Mr. Knowledge came in. Mr. 
Knowledge said that while he deplored the affair, 
yet he was proud that it was not Temperate that 
got shot as had been reported, as Temperate was 



126 

a conservative man and discreet, and always used 
good judgment, and the only one competent to 
regulate the speed and action of the train of life. 
Mr. Truth said that is my report only I have ad- 
ded these words, that Temperate is not only con- 
servative and discreet but he is useful in every 
transaction on the train of life, and they who re- 
fuse to use him cannot have my approval, and 
my followers must use him in all things. Mr. 
Thought then asked Mr. Knowledge if Temper- 
ate was at the place on that occasion when they 
said he got shot, and Mr. Knowledge said no, 
that Mr. Temperate did not leave his post of duty 
for any such occasions, and there should not be 
any such, but when the motive was for good and 
for the benefit for Mr. Mind (the worried con- 
ductor) there were entertainments of an innocent 
nature that are refreshing to Mr. Mind, and Mr. 
Temperate will always attend them, but even this 
kind should be held in Mr. Caution's private car. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

And seeing Mr. Truth and Mr. Knowledge in 
Mr. Mind's office, and they discussing the hap- 
penings of the affair in which it was reported 
that Mr. Temperate got hurt, I asked Mr. Knowl- 
edge what about such, telling him that I was 
present on that occasion and there were all kinds 
of people there, good and bad. Mr. Knowledge 
said that was the reason Mr. Temperate was not 
there, and said as Mr. Truth delivered it to him, 
Mr. Temperate should be in all things, even eat- 
ing, sleeping, dressing and working, and ought 
to be present in every conversation — in fact, we 
ought not to leave him out of anything. Mr. 
Knowledge said that all people alike got their 
tickets from Mr. Birth, and all alike were entitled 
to the privileges on the train of life as far as 
their life and property were concerned. As far 
as it did not interfere with his fellow-beings 
rights and privileges, each passenger was entitled 
to them. But no one had any right or privilege 
that would in any way interefere with his fellow 
passengers' rights and privileges. Mr. Thought 
asked Mr. Knowledge if there were any degrees 
in life, and Mr. Knowledge said no. By the right 
that Mr. Birth had to issue the tickets to all alike, 
from the same right one was as good as another. 
But he said there were better coaches than others 



128 

on the train of life, and by securing the right kind 
of instructions and keeping them, they were en- 
titled to a better coach than the ones who refused 
to do that. Your standing on the train of life 
depends altogether on whether you confrom to 
the rules and regulations or not, at least in the 
long run, though I have seen for a short time 
some of the Falsehoods, the Thiefs, the Robbers 
and the Murderers have a higher standing than 
Mr, Truth's side or followers. But so sure as 
they continue to ignore the rules and regulations 
on the train of life, so sure will their acts and 
deeds grow so thick on them that they will be 
seen by the inspector sooner or later, and they 
can continue to refuse^ Mr. Temperate until they 
will after awhile be barred from having a good 
coach and at the end of the line be forever barred 
from the new coach that will cross over the great 
gulf to enter into that beautiful land that has al- 
ready been described. 



CHAPITER XXXI. 



Being in Mr. Mind's office, and feeling worried 
I was taking a little rest, and Mr. Thought sug- 
gested that Mr. Peace, that man out on the nar- 
row ways, must be a happy man; that he had con- 
trol of all of Mind's (the conductors) passengers 
who went in by Mr. Right's door, and all the 
Thoughts, the Consciences and all the Cautions. 
Though the passengers get disturbed sometimes 
on those paths by reason of having desires, and 
meet Mr. Trouble at times, and he (Mr. Trouble) 
is so constituted that when you meet him he 
won't give any of the road, but there is plenty of 
room for you to go around him and if you will 
take Mr. Peace's advice you will always do that. 
Mr. Knowledge said that Mr. Trouble only in 
rare cases ever followed on after you, and when 
he did at all, the most of the cases on record 
showed that it was because Mr. Thought had re- 
fused to let Mr. Peace lead them. Mr. Thought 
answered and said that in going out that way 
with the passengers that at times he thought they 
got stubborn, and a great many times when he 
met Mr. Trouble, it aggravated him and he would 
go too close to him, and every time he did that 
Mr. Cawtion would object and Mr. Conscience 
would report it to Mr. Truth. Then said Mr. 
Knowledge, you have asked me several times 



130 

about the controversy between Mr. Truth and 
Mr. Falsehood. Knowing that you have been 
with Mr. Falsehood and got his opinion on perso- 
nal rights and privileges, and being with him 
yourself and out in his ways, and if not fully, 
you have made some investigations for yourself. 
Mr. Knowledge said on the other hand you have 
had all my instructions you would take and have 
been permitted to go to Mr. Wisdom's office and 
see for yourself, and its there that Mr. Truth 
keeps a true record, and the only law on that 
record, that should be in effect on the train of 
life between the two bridges, is that you have no 
personal rights and liberties that will hurt your 
fellow-passengers, and as all the passengers on 
the human train of life are persons, the only 
way you can vindicate your personal rights and 
liberties is to respect other people's. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



And again in company with Mr. Thought, he 
suggested to me that Mr. Knowledge was one of 
the most powerful men on the train of life. Mr. 
Mind sanctioned it, and said Mr. Knowledge was 
the most powerful and the greatest man that was 
ever on the train of life, except Mr. Wisdom, and 
it is in his office that you can make use of your 
choice for good or bad. To make it good you can 
execute great things by Mr. Wisdom himself 
being the executive power of Mr. Knowledge. 
Entering into Mr. Knowledge's office, I asked 
him if he had the power over all things that lived, 
:f he had taught the birds of the air and the fishes 
of the sea and the beasts of the field, and he said 
as for the power, he had none, only \hat he was 
used in making power, and he said all people that 
were born with any amount of brain could use 
him to improve their intellect, and without him 
there was no way to personal success, but he had 
no power of his own. He said the more he was 
sought after, the more power he gave, and he 
said Mr. Thought prompted you to ask that ques- 
tion, and you can better understand me by this 
explanation: In my first state I (Knowledge), am 
called instinct, and that's what you mean in refer- 
ence to birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and the 
beasts of the field. They are possessed with that 
natural instinct that some people call knowledge. 



132 

For instance, the little bird knows just as well 
how to build her first nest as she knows how to 
fcuild the last, and so with the fish and the 
beasts, only after their kind. But the infant is 
rjorn into the world and does not possess that de- 
gree of instinct. While it is endowed with some, 
as to nurse its mother's breast, yet it has to learn 
everything it knows — not that we are depraved 
and put lower than the birds, or the fish or the 
beasts, but because we have the gift to possess 
and command the real knowledge of Mr. Truth, 
and there is a connecting link between Mr. Truth 
and myself (Knowledge) and that is love. With- 
out that one thing, love, the train of life will 
sooner or later wreck. Then Mr. Thought asked 
him if it was Mr. Truth that had the power, and 
Mr. Knowledge said yes, and he said that he 
was only bad power, but he (Mr. Truth), was 
indestructible — he always was, and is now, and 
always will be, and could not be destroyed. 
He said that had been tried; that Mr. Truth's 
power came from the high Judge and that 
his true followers believed that, and as 
many of the passengers on the train of life that 
believe his words, and keep the rules and regula- 
tions, are also safe from destruction. When this 
train of life ceases to run, or stops at the end of 
the line, there is a new coach prepared for them 
that connects me with Mr. Truth by love, as 
you have read before about the passway over the 
gulf beyond the bridge of death. 



• CHAPTER XXXIII. 

After Mr. Knowledge left off speaking, I look- 
ed at Mr. Mind and found he was worried, and 
Mr. Thought asked what was the matter. Mr. 
Mind said, being the conductor of the train of 
life, he wanted to run into the city of Old Age or 
to the end of the line on the right track ; that if he 
did not do that, he was convinced now that he 
would not be able after he ran on the bridge of 
death to control his train. The surest and best and 
the only way is to keep it under subjection ail 
along the road. Then Mr. Caution spoke and said 
to Mr. Mind, be careful and then Mr. Truth came 
in and I understood from his conversation with 
Mr. Knowledge that he had been in Mr. Heart's 
car. He said something about Mr. Heart's 
trouble, that he was sent there by the high Judge ; 
that from the abundance he had heard from Mr. 
Heart's office, he could not receive the words 
he was speaking, and as the success of the whole 
train of life depended on the condition that he 
was in it must be right, and after I first sent him 
my messenger and he refused to hear him, then I 
sent him convincing proof that he was con- 
demned before the higk Judge. And at that 
time, or after then, being much grieved he made 
inquiry for me, and I went into his office. He 
wanted to know what he must do to have my ap- 



134 

proval, and I told him he must change his bag- 
gage (impressions) and commence anew. He 
called on me to help him, as it was something he 
could not do without help, and while I was with 
him and to instruct him so that he could detect 
and keep his baggage good. I wrote my name 
in the office of Mr. Heart, so that he would know 
my name at all times, and though it may some- 
times get covered up with trash or rubbish, yet 
with my blood it is indelibly written there. 
When I went to leave, to go up to the high Judge 
he was grieved, and I promised him for the benefit 
of the train of life, I would send my guide who 
would keep him in remembrance of all my ways 
and all my words on the train of life, and he said 
that Mr. Mind, the conductor,, should accept this 
as final instructions for his guide, and he in- 
structed Mr. Caution to warn without ceasing 
and for Mr. Thought to be centered on him (Mr. 
Truth) and ask for Mr. Knowledge's help in every 
time of need. If they would ask, he would send 
Mr. Wisdom down to help them understand and 
do his will in obeying the rules and regulations 
on the train of life. He said if they were faith- 
fully kept, and follow Mr. Truth's guide and be 
led by him, he would guide you over the bridge 
of death, and we would be like him and with him 
in that happy land beyond the river. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

After this Mr. Mind was in a happy mood, with 
Mr. Thought in a happy state, and Mr. Consci- 
ence at perfect ease. Mr. Caution while, stand 
ing ready to give any needed warning, was en- 
joying a much needed rest, and for a while it 
seemed the train of life ran smoother and easier 
than it ever did before, and looked as though it 
would continue on to the end of the line that way. 
Just at this time Mr. Hearing was listening at Mr. 
Teller, who told a great many things, and a great 
deal that was comforting and some that was to 
he deplored, and among other things he told that 
a great many of Mr. Falsehood's friends had 
about decided to abandon the further taking of 
sides in the controversy between Mr. Truth and 
Mr. Falsehood, but Mr. Falsehood himself, said 
that things would go just like they had, and Mr. 
Mind was all wrapped up in those promises Mr. 
Truth had been making, and said that he would 
soon find out that there was nothing in them, and 
the train of life would go on just like it always 
had. He went on to say that Mind and Thought 
could be lead about just anyway, but they would 
turn that all loose and forget the promises before 
long. And so it went for some time. Studying 
about it so much, I went to make inquiries, and 
he said he was ready to inform me. I told him 



136 

that I would like for him to give me a full his- 
tory of that controversy between Mr. Truth 
and Mr. Falsehood; that I wanted to decide for 
myself, and Mr. Knowledge said you can render 
your opinion at any time any way, but the de- 
cision is already made and you have already de- 
cided, and you, like thousands of others, don't 
know it. He said the controversy is in you, and 
your own words and actions are governed by the 
decision that is made. You are a follower of 
Truth or Falsehood, one or the other, and every 
living human that is possessed with a sane mind, 
that can talk, is either telling the truth or a false- 
hood in every word they speak. Mr. Knowledge 
said there is no compromise with Mr. Truth; that 
he might be left out and not informed, or covered 
up, or withheld, and many times shunned or 
dodged, but that did not change him in any wise, 
for the reason that we have no control over him. 
But on the other hand, we are governed by him 
unless we refuse to speak his words. But Mr. 
Knowledge said that the greatest trouble was, so 
many people did not confine themselves to either 
one, but nearly all claim they are follewers and 
speak the words of Mr. Truth, but that little book 
on observation is competent to give you a whole 
lot of light on who really does and who does not. 
That little tract that is called "Watch and See" 
will also shed a wonderful light on the subject. 
But he said you may have misunderstood that lit- 
tle book called "Watch and See." In reading it 



137 

you can turn it from you, and it is to watch other 
people, but when you hold it right it is meant for 
you, and to get the full benefit of it, it has to be 
read every day, as it is a complicated affair, and 
you are apt to forget it. But there are only seven 
pages of it (seven days in a week) and when you 
hold it right, seven of them point to you. Mr. 
Caution has for a warning and for our benefit ad- 
ded a few lines at the bottom of each page, point- 
ing out the fact that we have watched ourselves 
seven days in the week and seen what we have 
done, and then add what we have been forced to 
see in others altogether, it will furnish us with a 
guide to lead us on to the highest and noblest 
plane of living that can be furnished on the train 
of life. 



CHAPTER XXXV, 

In company with Mr. Thought, again I saw he 
was in trouble and was pondering over the words 
of Mr. Knowledge, that he said the decision of 
that controversy was already made, and Mr. 
Thought suggested that I ask Mr. Knowledge the 
direct question, which side am I on, Mr. Truth's, 
or Mr. Falsehood's? Mr, Knowledge answered 
and said that is not my business, the record 
is open in Mr. Wisdom's office for you to see,*: 
both by precept and example the life of Mr. Truth 
and Mr. Falsehood, and if you have understood 
the teachings of the book Observation, you have 
already learned the powers that each one is pos- 
sessed with. Mr. Falsehood only has the power 
to destroy, while Mr. Truth has the power to do 
both — destroy and to save. After Mr. Knowledge 
had thus spoken he told me to go into Mr. Mind's 
office and read the first chapter in the book of 
Observation and immediately I did so, and it read 
like this : When I was a child my parents (or the 
ones who governed me) told me I must do a 
certain thing, and I did it, and they approved 
it and I was glad. Then there were some things 
they told me not to do, but I was inclined to do 
them, and did, and when they saw the things they 
said not to do were done, they asked me if I did 
them, and being afraid of the truth (realizing its 
power) and not afraid of the falsehood, I said no. 



139 

They having confidence in me, believed what 1 
said. They told me of something else I must 
not do, and I did that, and they seeing it was 
done, asked me if I did it, and I said no. They 
did not believe me, though they had no proof, but 
gave me notice they were going to investi- 
gate it, and I being guilty, was afraid. Just here 
there was a question asking me what I was afraid 
of, and after studying awhile I answered and said, 
it is the truth — of being caught up with, afraid 
the truth would be found out, and I was sorry I 
did the act, for then I was afraid they would find 
out the truth that 1 was guilty of the act. The 
reason I was afraid was of the effect of the truth 
would have (its power). The same thing was 
done the third time and they told me not to do 
a certain thing, but getting out twice before, I 
did it anyhow and there was a witness who saw 
me do it. They asked me if I did it and I told 
them no, and the witnesses was brought up face 
to face and it was proved that I did it, and then I 
was forced to see the power of the truth. The 
first effective power the truth had in that case 
was it destroyed the confidence that my father 
and mother had in me, and the next was it forced 
them to believe, knowing I was guilty of that act 
that I said I was not guilty of, I was also guilty 
of the other two. Here are the comments of Mr. 
Wisdom which read thus: Mr. Falsehood 
boasted that he saved the child punishment twice 
out of three times, but he says here is the true 



14# 

verdict: the facts in the case are that Mr. False- 
hood led the child off into three errors (the three 
denials), when he was once convicted by the 
truth. Instead of Mr. Falsehood saving the child 
twice out of three times, after once convicted of 
them, Mr. Falsehood's evidence was against the 
child. There was another case with another 
child, which on two occasions did what it was 
told not to do, and the third time it was accused 
of doing what it was told not to do. When asked 
if it did that thing and it said no, there being 
witnesses to the act and it being done by another 
party ,the child proved its innocence by the wit- 
nesses, which was the truth. Then the child was 
not only applauded for its innocence, but was ex- 
onerated from the other two acts (that it really 
did) and we all agree that it was the power of the 
truth in the last case that made the parents con- 
fident that it was not guilty of the other two. 
Here is Mr. Wisdom's comment on this case: He 
says that Mr. Falsehood boasted that he saved 
the child twice and the truth once, but his verdict 
is that in the case with the first child, Falsehood 
saved the child nothing and destroyed the con- 
fidence of the parents in their child, and in the 
second case he led the child into trouble and 
saved it nothing and the truth saved the confi- 
dence the parents had in the child and saved it 
from being punished. Consequently all the 
power that Falsehood has, he gets it from being 
mixed with the truth. Then I saw the third told 



141 

not to do a thing, and it did not .do it. The sec- 
ond thing was forbidden and it obeyed and did 
not do it. The things was done, and the child 
was asked if it did it, and it said no, 
and another party said they believed it 
did, but there was no proof. The third . 
time it was told not to do a thing and it did not 
do it, but it was accused of it by three others 
and the child was not afraid of the truth but 
wanted the truth to be known, but before the evi- 
dence was taken to condemn the child, two of the 
three parties fell out, and one of them told that 
the other one had done the act, that the third 
child was accused of, and the other one of the 
three testified to it also, and confidence in the 
child was made stronger than ever. While False- 
hood had accused it and betrayed its happiness 
for the time being, and saved it nothing, the truth 
had destroyed the falsehood and saved the child 
from being punished, and thus, said Mr. Wisdom, 
the keeper of the record, you can now see plainly 
that the controversy between Mr. Truth and Mr. 
Falsehood begins in you when you start in child- 
hood, and will follow you to the end of the line, 
and the closer you stay by Mr. Truth, the plainer 
you can see his (Falsehood's) tempting ways and 
the closer you stay with Mr. Truth the better and 
easier you can resist Falsehood's temptations. 
And if we will really in word and deed, be gov- 
erned by Mr. Truth entirely, we will not only 
have light ourselves, but will reflect it on others. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



And I kept on reading in the book and there 
was a boy who did not love his parents, but they 
upheld him in all he did, and they only chastized 
him when they were provoked to anger by his 
way of mistreatment of them, and he, when old 
enough, would be impudent to them (his par- 
ents) and Mr. Falsehood and his kindred were 
with the boy, and he loved their company. When 
the boy was rebuked at school, his parents would 
in the fear of truth admit that he did as he was 
charged, but consoled themselves and took con- 
solation in saying that their boy was no worse 
than other people's boys. Expressions of that 
kind always tickle Mr. Folly, and Falsehood in 
such cases always offers his consoling words by 
adding that boy is no worse than others, and not 
half so bad as some. The boy loved the ways 
of Falsehood and when he was a grown man he 
found himself started out in life and what he 
needed and he did not have, he went to a friend 
for help, and the friend said if you will 
pay my price you can get what you want. 
But the boy said I have no money, and 
the fellow that he called his friend said, I 
can't trust you. He said my word is good I will 
do what I say, and the friend trusted him, and 
when he got what he wanted and needed, and 



143 

consumed it, the friend wanted him to pay. He 
said I will, but I am not ready yet, but I will later. 
The friend said the date is passed, and you said 
your word was good, and hating the truth, the 
man who needed the help and got it on his word, 
took exceptions to his friend's reminding him of 
his word, and he left the man that was his friend, 
and being in a mad passion went to some of his 
own kind for consolation. On his way he met 
another Falsehood like himself, and he was in 
company with a thief, and the young man who 
got the help when he needed it, told his compan- 
ion that he owed a certain man something and 
the man was pushing him and accused him of not 
being as good as his word, and he did not like 
him, and said it seemed like the man who helped 
him was afraid from the start. Before he finished 
speaking, Thief spoke and said if anybody was to 
treat him that way he would not pay him at all, 
and Falsehood chimed in and said he wouldn't 
either, and the fellow said (not being versed in 
law) I don't know how to get out of it. Then 
Falsehood said I have a friend that is a lawyer 
who can and will advise you; and besides I have 
heard several of my friends say they will testify 
that he did not treat you right, and my neighbor, 
Mr. Hypocrite, says he is a believer in honesty 
and won't advise any one to take that which is 
not his, but in that case he would not blame 
the young man for not paying it at all. 
And so the Falsehoods, the Thiefs, and the Hypo- 



144 

crites raised a mighty howl about their friend be- 
ing mistreated, and there being a politician in the 
community intending to run for an office, as well 
as a large number of the Falsehood kind, in the 
community, he seeing a majority on that side, 
gave it his approval. The consequence was that 
the man that furnished the help in time of need 
lost all that he trusted the young man with, the 
politician was elected to the office and the False- 
hoods and their kind were delighted. The lead- 
ers of the Falsehoods boasted that they had 
things their way and all the Hyprocrites that pre- 
tended to be followers of Truth said it was a fair 
thing, they won it by a majority, and Mr. Truth 
had not been present since the fellow got what 
he wanted and needed, and refused to return a 
just reward, and only appeared just in time to 
serve notice that Mr. Wisdom had kept a true 
record of the whole affair. Public Influence pub- 
lished a statement of the election, and also said 
Mr. Falsehood had been vindicated. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



Then Mr. Truth posted a little notice in Mr. 
Wisdom's office, stating* the facts in a few words. 
It read thus: "A young man that has never seen 
this (Wisdom's) office and has grown up under 
bad influences, has stolen the confidence of his 
friend and got possession of his friend's goods. 
He appropriated them to his own use and needs 
and being destitute of a good principle, he refused 
to pay anything in return for what he got and 
needed, and therefore the fact in the case is, he 
not only stole the goods, but stole his friend's 
confidence, and they who willfully upheld the act 
are a party to theft. All who knew the facts in 
the case and upheld such acts are thieves and 
robbers themselves." But for the time being, 
there were but few who read that notice, so said 
Mr. Wisdom. 

But I read of another young man in the book 
of Observation, whose parents did not have much 
to say but taught their child the best they could, 
and when he was grown he needed some help. He 
went to a man he thought was his friend, and 
told him what he wanted and needed, and the 
man told him he could help him and would do 
it. After a satisfactory agreement he furnished 
the young man what he wanted and needed, and 
when it was to be paid he went to the man he 



146 

thought was his friend and paid him all he had, 
though he did not pay it all, and the man he 
thought was his friend told him, as in the other 
case that we have just read about, that he prom- 
ised to pay and thought he would be as good as 
his word. The young man was sorrowful, and 
offered to pawn the balance of his living to up- 
hold his word or promise, and to keep from steal- 
ing the confidence of the man he thought was his 
friend. The man accepted the security and offer- 
ed to let him have more, and the young man being 
in further need, got other things that he wanted 
and needed, and to uphold his word and strength- 
en his confidence, paid all he made to the man 
he thought was his friend, because the young man 
intended to be and was honest. Every one that 
was added to the young man's family was just 
one more in need, although the young man was 
industrious and worked hard, and striving hard 
to find the cause, he finally went to Mr. Wisdom 
and told him the full circumstances and asked 
him (Wisdom) for his advice. Mr. Wisdom then 
said, the whole trouble is in the man you are do- 
ing business with. You think he is your friend, 
but he is an extortioner, and he is robbing you 
of what you make. The thing for you to do is to 
get loose from that man, and let him alone, and 
before you make another deal, get that little tract 
called "Watch and See" and open your eyes arta 
read it. But the Falsehoods and the Hypocrites 
said it was no matter for him he ought to have 



147 

known better. But Mr. Truth posted another 
note, called the analysis of that case, and it reads 
thus: "When Falsehood wants to make an im- 
pression, he borrows enough from my words to 
do it with, and when Falsehood said the young 
man ought to have known better he borrowed a 
little from my w r ord. If the young man had been 
given the opportunity to acquaint himself with 
Knowlwedge, and refused it, i nthat particular he 
did wrong, but if he did have the time and op- 
portunity and did not, that was no excuse for the 
extortioner to take that which was not his own, 
without justly compensating the party or parties 
he took it from. But the extortioner will not only 
rob the living and the dead, but will and does lay 
plans to rob the infants not yet born into the 
world." Mr. Wisdom then added a little note 
saying, this poor ignorant young man, by way 
of rumor, had heard that all the extortioners lived 
in a certain large city, and not knowing any bet- 
ter, like thousands of others, believed it. But mis 
note went on to say that there was not only a 
large school of them there, but they were scatter- 
ed all over this and all other countries, and went 
on to add by way of a postscript that a number 
of them had lived and died and never proved what 
they had, so plainly for the reason that they did 
not have anything, and no way to prove it. Just 
here Mr. Caution added a line and said, most of 
the people that desire a thing want it to use, and 
when your fellow being wants the advantage of 



148 



you, you had better get the little book called 
"Watch and See," and ascertain if they don't 
want to use it on you. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



In the book of Observation I read a letter said 
to have been written by Mr. Wisdom, and he 
said in that letter he knew some parents and they 
knew him, and they had a child that they instruct- 
ed, and the child under good discipline received 
their instructions, and by their precept and ex- 
amples the child when grown followed them. 
When in the case of need, like the two others 
just described, (and the wise mam's child when 
grown needed help), by wise instructions being 
given him, and by keeping them, it gave him a 
good name. When he was found in need, his 
friends wanted to help him, and he had confi- 
dence in them and they had confidence in him. 
So he got the help he needed, and he paid it back 
when he could, and when he could not, he was 
sorrowful and went to them and told them so, 
and told them the reason he could not meet his 
promises. They seeing him sorrowing made 
them sympathize with him the more, and they 
forgave him. And the Falsehoods and their kind- 
red, knowing where there was honesty of purpose 
and confidence knitted together in truth and love, 
there was harmony, and that they had no part in 
it. Mr. Truth published to the world that this 
transaction met his hearty approval, and Mr. 
Wisdom said my ways are ways of peace. Mr. 



150 

Wisdom's friends sought this last young man for 
an officer, and after he counselled with them, de- 
cided to accept it, if elected. When the election 
was held, the old politician, that Falsehood and 
his kindred had elected before, was the young 
man's opponent, and the young man was elected 
by a safe majority. Public Influence, always with 
the majority, published a statement of the elec- 
tion, and praised the young man for his honesty, 
and his comments was that we would have a clean 
administration, and the good people should con- 
gratulate themselves for the reason that the old 
political gang was put out. Another proof was 
established that the people were competent, by 
the use of their suffrage, to make and preserve 
the greatest nation on earth. This was the only 
comment, and that by Mr. Wisdom — that in all 
the records the proof was that in the end False- 
hood's mission was to destroy, and Truth's was 
to save all that was good, and for our benefit 
destroy that which was bad. Just then I heard 
a knocking at the coach that Mr. Heart was in, 
and I listened and heard a voice crying that 
sounded like my mother's, saying, child which 
side of the controversy will you take, and I prom- 
ised to write my answer in the contract. If I 
have and if you have, and we fulfill it according 
to the rules and regulations, the promise is that 
it will and is sealed with blood, and never can be 
erased. We have not the space to publish the 
whole book of Observation but Mr. Wisdom says 



151 

continue to read it and read it carefully, for your 
own profit and good. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

I read in the book of Observation of quite a 
number of people, both male and female, and all 
kinds of people, and all kinds of fathers, mothers, 
and guardians and all kinds of young people, and 
all kinds of children. I read of one father and 
mother who lived as near right as they knew how, 
and they wanted their children to do right, but 
they were ignorant and unlearned, and as Caution 
is always solemn and serious, they thought he 
was too hard on their children; that to use too 
much caution would keep their children from en- 
joying themselves, and they allowed their daugh- 
ters to go to all kinds of gatherings. They were 
well to do and also were well respected, and be- 
ing good and honest people themselves, thought 
everybody else was the same way. They were 
not able to distinguish the difference in the kind 
of company they kept, and of course they respect- 
ed the Falsehoods and their friends the same as 
they did any one else, until the Falsehoods or 
their kindred were detected in some of their dirty 
acts. Then after it was too late, they of course 
discarded them from their company. Just as I 
read this line, Mr. Thought came in and said, 
those people are good people, and they are honest, 
but they in many cases can't think to lock the 
vault until their money is stolen. Mr. Wisdom's 



153 

comment on this chapter is that the family is 
good, but. not informed of his ways, and they not 
being acquainted with him, are just as apt to be 
led the wrong way as the right way; that love is 
a ruling factor of all people, and a well dressed 
Falsehood to the natural eye, looks as well as a 
man well dressed that knows his (Wisdom's) 
ways, and especially to those who don't know his 
ways themselves. Where they don't know, a 
good man's daughter is as apt to love and marry 
a well dressed thief, as she is to love and marry 
a young man that is honest and truthful. Mr. 
Caution said, listen to these words, and teach 
your children, and continue to send them to Mr. 
Wisdom's office in order that they may find the 
right door to start out in life. 



CHAPTER XL. 

And it came to pass that one of those young 
ladies who belonged to that good family had been 
allowed the privilege when young to exercise her 
own judgment as to where she should go, and to 
a great extent as to who she would go with. At 
times she was thrown into company which she 
knew not of, and in meeting strangers in social 
circles, by the influence of friends that may with- 
out any forethought form a good opinion of some 
people whom they chance to meet, she being vir- 
tuous and true to a feeling sense of right, looking 
to the civil, moral and religious rights to marry, 
which is not in the least objectionable, without 
stopping to consider that the wise thing to do for 
self-protection is to use judgment, instead of pas- 
sion, as this good man's daughter did, but she 
did it unknowingly. But on the same principle 
that you start out to hunt a friend, not knowing 
where you will find him, and unexpectedly meet 
him. So with this good man's daughter, she met 
and married a good man and is living a happy 
life, a credit to herself, her family and her com- 
munity. But she had a sister that was under the 
very same circumstances, and had an equal 
chance in every way, who met a man and through 
a passion married him, he at all times using good 
manners and was courteous to all, at times, but 



155 

was not appreciative of anything that was not of 
his approval, though the favor to him be a good 
one. After much tumult and parleying of an an- 
gry nature, and there was a separation, and then 
there was sorrow for herself, her family, and the 
community. The comment of Mr. Wisdom on this 
good family was that their great trouble was in 
not using the proper amount of caution and may- 
be not knowing. The reason for not knowing 
may be due to several causes — for lack of oppor- 
tunity, from poverty; or from sympathetic reas- 
ons, by inheriting the idea that one person is as 
good as another. By nature so they are, but the 
right to improve and do better is another con- 
sideration if the surroundings and environments 
are bad, and you can reject the bad part and 
choose the good, you are entitled to credit, and 
the establishing of a good code of morals is the 
proof of the individual that does wisely choose 
under such circumstances. In the same family 
were two brothers, and one of them was over- 
come (by not knowing) by evil habits, and he 
would drink intoxicating drinks, get drunk and 
would fall down in the mire and tried to persuade 
his brother to drink with him, but from a sense of 
right his brother would not do it, but the one that 
would get drunk kept on drinking, and on one oc- 
casion fell down in the mud, and his brother not 
being able to get him out, was sorrowful, and 
lamented his brother's condition. While Mr. 
Knowledge was out taking exercise he found 



156 

them, and the brother that was in the mire want- 
ed help. The sober one asked Mr. Knowledge 
what to do, and Mr. Knowledge told him it was 
his duty to have kept his brother out of the mire, 
if he could have done so, but if he could not get 
him out, and keep him out, it would not do either 
of them any good for the sober one to get down 
in the mud with his brother, just because he could 
not get him out nor keep him out. 



CHAPTER XLI. 



And in the book I read of a poor boy that had 
been well instructed and his name was Would, if 
he could. At the age of about fifteen he became 
an orphan, and he was hired to a good man who 
had a good family, and the boy listened to good 
advice. He took care of his wages, and the man 
he was hired to kept his money for him, or put 
it in safe keeping, and the young man only used 
what he actually needed. He stayed with the 
man he was hired to, and saved his earnings, and 
at the man's death in after years the young man 
bought his employer's farm and paid for it. To- 
day he is doing well. And Mr. Truth posted this 
notice to young men, and it reads : "By the wis- 
dom of this young man's judgment, he has set you 
an example." And I know another young man 
whose name was Could, if he would. He was 
hired to a good man, but the boy would not be 
suited, and, was disagreeable and would not do 
anything that did not suit him. He soon lost his 
home; secured and lost another, and so on; and 
the next thing he lost was self respect, and the 
respect of others ; and the next was his character, 
and with that went all the confidence of his fel- 
low-beings, and when that was all gone, he was 
counted as lost — and so he was. 



CHAPTER XLIL 



I read in the book where Mr. Wisdom had pre- 
vailed on Mr. Caution to deliver a lecture, and had 
furnished the information that was most needed^ 
and Mr. Caution after consenting, did deliver the 
lecture. He started out by saying he was present 
to address the fathers and the mothers, young 
men, and young ladies, and all the boys and girls. 
He said there were two very important coaches 
on the train of life. The most important coaches 
on the road are Good and Evil. Mr. Caution said, 
now my dear friends, there is not a passenger on 
the train of life who has not business with those 
two cars, and it is headquarters for the most im- 
portant transactions of our lives, and in one or 
the other a true copy of our lives is kept. Each 
and every passenger has a right to have his or 
her record kept in the car of his or her choice, 
and in the bad or evil coach is headquarters for 
danger, folly, ruin, and destruction, and the 
agents for that coach are Falsehood, Thief,. 
Drunkard, Whoremonger, Robber, Extortion; 
and their sub-agents are Hypocrite, Deceiver, and 
Treacherous. On the coach named Good is head- 
quarters for Truth, Wisdom and Knowledge; 
and their sub-agents are, Patience, Virtue, Faith 
and Love. And now, said Mr. Caution, there are 
all sorts of institutions in the world and all kinds 



159 

oi societies, and in some of them you fathers and 
mothers are leaders, and to you I want to say that 
you are responsible to a great extent for the 
choice of coach your children make for good or 
evil. There is a certain code of morals that we 
did not make, but was given us, and by adhering 
to them we would be liable to register our child- 
ren's name in the good coach, notwithstanding 
any passenger has a perfect right to change from 
one car to the other at any time; but when once 
learned, the pleasantness, peace, happiness and 
satisfaction there is in the good coach, they hard- 
ly ever change from that to the bad, and when 
they do, they nearly always return. They are ab- 
solutely sure to return if they have ever ex- 
perienced the change of heart that he had when 
he was changed out of the bad coach into the 
good one. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

(Caution lecture continued.) 
And he said the code of morals referred to 
would usually be kept by the people that were 
better informed, if it was not that the law of cus- 
tom and fashion was allowed to take its place, and 
that many of you fathers and mothers al- 
lowed your children to patronize these customs 
and fashions without ever stopping to think what 
the motive or purpose was for their organization. 
Sometimes they were gotten up for good and the 
bad agents would get into them and it would 
turn out for the bad, but not' often were they got- 
ten up for the bad and turned out for the good, 
arxl when such is the case its caused by making 
an example where danger was allowed to show 
his face too plain, and through fear the same 
thing is not repeated. And as the law of custom 
is better regulated than the law of fashion, the 
tatter is the more dangerous and often it becomes 
a fashion to do things in this fast age and we 
fall into it without giving it any study or consult- 
ing the truth or wisdom of it. Fashions and cus- 
toms are useless that go beyond self respect and 
good manners toward each other, but yet we sub- 
mit to it, and sometimes it becomes fashionable 
to let our girls travel in the dark with young men 
and allow them through a false conception of con- 



161 

fidence to participate in society that purports to 
be good. Mr. Wisdom and Mr. Truth have 
demonstrated by the best witness on earth r 
and one that not a single one of you 
will deny, if he has ever testified to you ? 
and that witness is named Experience. It 
doesn't matter what the intention is in any ot 
your undertakings, you are subject to get in con- 
tact with danger, and the only, mission Danger 
has ever filled, and the only thing Danger has 
ever accomplished, is your injury and destruction, 
and he, knowing no truth, no wisdom, no knowl- 
edge, no love, no peace, no happiness, nor respect, 
virtue, chastity, nor anything but destruction, 
though he is friendly and inviting, and suggests 
carelessness, always instead of carefulness. Our 
witness Experience testifies that you always, in 
every case, have more time to be careful than to 
be careless, than to get into trouble and then get 
out of it, and he testifies that you always have 
more time in ever)- case to take care and put away 
the things you use, than you have to hunt them 
up when you need them. Even yourself, your 
character, in your words that you speak, be care- 
ful and have them ready when you need them. 
But because of fashion we will face danger and 
let our children fall into bad habits and keep bad 
company, and Danger will even send Mr. False- 
hood to your young people's entertainments, or 
to any of your institutions, and it depends on who 
is in charge of whatever it is, as to which one 



162 . 

of the Falsehoods he sends. If you are very 
strict in your rulings and enforce your orders, he 
will send a well dressed Falsehood that is well to 
do, educated and refined, with polished manners 
and friendly, to represent him on these occasions 
and get his work in, and he may pick out your 
son or your daughter to get in his work, for he 
always tells you he is in that respect like Mr. 
Truth — no respector of persons. But Experience, 
the true witness, says that he lies; that he selects 
the one that is easiest to be led estray. The wit- 
ness, Experience, testifies again and says that the 
greatest promise and prospect of a good reward 
is to stay away from him, and keep him away 
from us. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

Caution continued to lecture, and he said that 
while Danger sent his most effective agents to the 
place most needed, he sent to other places any 
kind he had or could get in any shape or dress, 
educated or uneducated, rich or poor; but the 
best talent he had he used on the leaders and 
teachers, and when possible on the preachers, 
and when he succeeded in landing either a teach- 
er, leader or preacher, through fashion and in- 
fluence or in any other way, they made so much 
larger hauls. The witness said that none will 
deny him testifying that Danger or Falsehood s 
greatest success has always been by the use of 
money, ignorance and influence, and to help out, 
make it fashionable if possible. But to the young 
men and young ladies, boys and girls, the success- 
ful way Danger or Falsehood finds to ruin you,, 
is through the same method, only he devotes 
more attention to make it fashionable, and if you 
are invited to a fashionable party or any kind 
of a gathering, and its the custom or fashion to 
take strong drink, and you are intemperate 
enough to continue to go and participate in such 
until you create an appetite for it, that alone will 
ruin you. But before I proceed further, I want 
to say that I have noticed many young people, 
and older ones, too, frowning with scorn at my 



164 

warnings, but Experience, your witness, testifies 
to you in company or alone that my warning is 
true, and so much so that you have many things 
that you know by experience that makes you fear, 
even when you are alone. Things that you would 
not tell at all to those that you consider the best 
company you keep. No reasonable amount of 
gain would induce you to tell it. Just here I want 
to say that Mr. Truth is the worst abused charac- 
ter that we have any account of, and when I (Cau- 
tion) am sent out by him to warn the people, both 
young and old, against wrong,. I am treated with 
the same contempt ; but I have told you about the 
different kind of agents that Falsehood or Danger 
send out. Now about their ways of doing. I have 
seen Falsehood go to church and there at the altar 
shed tears, while you may have known them by 
the name of Hypocrite or Deceiver, or some other 
name, but Mr. Wisdom has a true record, and if 
you will investigate it, you will find his father 
or mother, one, was connected to a Falsehood, 
and really when I say Falsehood, I mean all of 
their kind, and they not only shed tears in your 
church, but they pray in public, and if necessary 
they will preach, and they will join the best fra- 
ternal orders of the land and profess a great fra- 
ternal spirit if allowed, and if by any reason there 
should come up a difference with some of the 
membership, then they can get in their most ef- 
fective work by telling tales between the parties 
to the differences. And listen, they nearly always 



165 

row enough from Mr. Truth's words to make 
it effective, and add with all of their own words 
that which it requires to keep up the trouble. If 
your parents will allow it and you insist on keep- 
ing company with the Falsehoods or their kind, 
they will, if possible, dear mother, ruin your 
daughter, assail her character, if allowed the 
privilege of her companionship, and they will 
steal the greatest blessing, the greatest comfort, 
the greatest satisfaction that the good woman 
ever possessed, or that your sister has for her, 
which is virtue and chastity. They will steal in 
any way they can and anywhere they can, even at 
or from your mother or father's grave, and on 
the other hand, they will entice you young man, 
off in commpany with their kind. If by no other 
means of decoying you off, they will persuade 
you to believe that you are a dwarf, or that you 
are a coward, or prevail on 3^0 u to take some wine, 
or if it suits you better, take something that will 
affect you quicker. When you have once been 
captured and get in trouble, they will stoop down 
further and say of you or your sister that you 
ought to have been taught better, and when any 
of the Falsehood kind gets in trouble or is caught 
up with, the first thing they do is to deny the 
charge, and the next plea is they don't know any- 
thing about it, nor who is the guilty one. But if 
the proof is being sought and there is any suspi- 
cion reasonably strong, the next step for them is 
to lay it on somebody else. If that fails, and there 



166 

is more than one connected with the crime, if one 
can get out by deserting the balance of his asso- 
ciates, he is ready to do that, and if finally proven 
guilty, their consolation is, it was no worse than 
others had done. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



(Caution's lecture continued.) 
The most effective way the Falsehoods have of 
getting in their work is, if they can't get up a dif- 
ference by tattling themselves, they will find out 
some rivals and listen for all they can get and then 
tell it. If they can catch some one that is in good 
standing, who through a passion will say some- 
thing he ought not to have said, and may be sorry 
of it when he has had time to consider it, then it 
is that the Falsehoods will tell the truth, and only 
in such cases, as the truth will serve to raise a 
disturbance and confusion. Wherever that is you 
will find the Falsehoods and their kind, and when 
there is any confusion, they listen the more at- 
tentively, and if they can hear anything on either 
side, they never fail to tell the opposing party. 
If they are recognized, or what they have to say is 
countenanced at all, they will carry the news from 
one to the other. The loss of time is no consider- 
ation with them, and Experience says that any 
one of them will tell you what he heard, and get 
you to say something; then you may rest assured 
that he will tell your adversary what you say. Ex- 
perience further testifies that the least you have 
to say on such occasions is not only the best, but 
is the safest, and the only way to keep your name 
out of such confusion and scandals is to say noth- 



168 

ing about it at all. And where there is prejudice 
existing between two neighborhoods or two in- 
stitutions, and anything comes up where to do 
certain things, or have certain gatherings on the 
same date, if any thing at all is said that will 
stimulate one side stronger than the other, they 
never fail to tell it, and all the Falsehoods on 
both sides take exceptions to it, and if it was not 
for Mr. Truth and his followers, the Falsehoods 
would break down and destroy many of the best 
institutions of our country. Experience tells us 
that we never knew of any trouble or confusion 
where as many as two or three were concerned, 
that if the Falsehoods were not implicated in it 
at the start, they did not get into it before it end- 
ed. And as you have had experience of your own, 
ask yourself if this is not true. But said Air. Cau- 
tion, in one of my lectures I was on this occasion 
referring to Falsehood, and a stranger interrupt- 
ed me and asked who Faleshood was. I asked 
him in return if he in all of his transactions of 
business or in relating anything he was concern- 
ed in, if he had an adversary and they had any 
difference, if he would tell the exact truth about 
his enemy and give him the consideration he 
would a friend, and from the difference take noth-- 
ing. nor add anything to, and not emphasize the 
part of that which was said or done that suited 
or would be in his favor the most. He did not 
say, and then I answered his question and said, 
if for a selfish motive you withhold or add to the 



169 

facts as they actually exist, then the motive 
(which is to be considered in all things), is bad, 
and if you tell part and leave off part, through a 
spirit of vengeance against your fellow-being, you 
are a Falsehood yourself. 



CHAPTER XLVL 

(Caution continues to lecture.) 
But as there are all kinds of Falsehoods, and 
in their kind they have no S3 T stem to do their mis- 
chief ; they will confine themselves to any one 
way. I have seen them put in their appearance 
at important meetings of a social, business or 
religious nature, and through their predudice 
treat the whole affair with contempt, and through 
their prejudice and conceit turn against their best 
friends for no provocation at all worthy of notice. 
All of the Falsehoods and the thief kind have the 
same principle and all of them are guilty of the 
same desires, but they are sometimes placed 
where they do not have the opportunity to show 
it, sometimes owing to the standing of their par- 
ents or foreparents and the positions they hold 
themselves, through the influnece of being con- 
nected with better people, they are restrained, 
but under the necessary circumstances they 
would be guilty. Experience says that nothing 
will remove the stain but a chanee of heart, such 
as took place when he was changed out of the 
bad coach and put in the new one; but after all 
the stain had been removed by washing it with 
blood, as it takes that and that alone to remove 
it, before you can be acquitted in the high Judge's 
court, and that being the orders of the high Judge,. 



171 

Mr. Truth furnished his own blood for that pur- 
pose. The high Judge has promised every one 
that they will stand acquitted who have their 
crimes erased with the blood of Mr. Truth. And 
as you have been informed since you have been 
on the train of life that vou got your right to live 
by birth, and then if not deaf, the privilege to 
hear; and the privilege to see, if not blind; and 
to talk, if not dumb, and the organ of sight was 
given you to see the things visible. Your mind 
was given you to grasp the invisible things that 
you hear and don't see, and the action of thought 
was added to determine your action in all cases 
for your best interest for yourself and fellow- 
beings. Knowledge was given to direct us m 
the cause, wisdow to make the application for 
our good in ever)- action of life, and our con- 
science to check the operation of all things that is 
not for our good. And the best of all that we 
possess is the truth. That is a free gift, and we 
can only possess it to the extent that we use it, 
and though all other gifts may fail us, if we are 
in possession of that one thing most needful, the 
truth, we can live. But if that one thing fails us 
and we entirely fail to possess it, and it takes its 
everlasting flight from us, experience tells us that 
the individual will fail. When Truth leaves us 
collectively, every history known to mankind 
proves that he takes with him thought, knowedge, 
wisdom, and conscience, the hearing and the pow- 
er to talk, and only leaves an empty mind, and 



172 

with only that left, there is nothing to buifd on 
and keep us up. Even the first law of nature, 
which is self-preservation, will fail us, and there 
is nothing on which to construct a civil law and 
no way to comprehend the moral law . Without 
the truth, there is no religious law, and without 
either of the four laws, there is nothing left but 
destruction of the body sooner or later. Civiliza- 
tion then being blotted out, heathenism takes its 
place, and heathens, unlearned, without knowl- 
edge and wisdom can not produce and make and 
keep history, as civilization and education can 
and does. Therefore being in a position to know 
that fact, I can safely assert that there is no his- 
tory known to mankind that does not prove that 
we can't live without the truth, and if that is the 
fact, and there is no doubt of it, how much more 
ought we to earnestly seek to know it, tell it, and 
live it ; for if we are living under the power and 
influence of truth, we may fail in strength and in 
sight and in hearing, but we will be fed and cared 
for, which should be true, and is to as many as 
know and keep the words of truth, the greatest 
consolation in this life. If we can only possess it 
in its divine nature, it will not only keep us while 
in this life, but will save us from a death that 
never ends, in the world to come. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 



I read in the book of Observation where M r. 
Thought, by the consent of Mr. Mind, delivered a 
lecture on the law of self-preservation, and Mr. 
Thought said: The requirements of that law is 
the first law we should endeavor to keep, but the 
keeping and obeying that law, even to the letter, 
is only the stepping stone to the safe keeping of 
the civil, moral, and divine laws, but this is the 
first law that we should keep, and the first injunc- 
tion of the law of self-preservation is to keep 
clean, and the word clean is to be understood to 
not only keep clean bodily, but to keep clean in 
our thoughts and our acts and our deeds ; our 
dealings and what we handle, and not only that,, 
but keep our words clean; keep our homes clean, 
our clothes and sleeping apartments clean and 
everything we eat or drink must be clean. By so 
doing we are well started in keeping the moral 
law. Every thing we have anything to do with in 
any way should be kept clean. Without cleanli- 
ness there is no beauty nor good taste, and that 
we all agree is true. Nobody denies testifying that 
he has seen the dinginess of clothes and the filth 
of them turn the wearer of them away, when if 
the raiment had been clean, the wants of the per- 
son in possession of them might have had his ev- 
en 7 want and desire supplied. When the body is. 



174: 

filthy it has the same effect and when your words 
are filthy they serve you badly. A dirty character 
has the same effect, only it is worse, so far as 
your companionship goes, and either one of these 
disorders will hurt you, and the only way to be 
redeemed is to get clean and keep clean. Any 
amount (let it be ever so little) of cleanliness will 
help, and is commendable, and any amount of 
filth (it doesn't make any difference how little) is 
distastful whenever it is found in or on anything. 
Then we get the idea that the particle of filth 
injures the looks and taste of everything we have 
anything to do with, and the least particle of 
cleanliness that we see about anything makes it 
look better and have a better taste. For instance, 
have you ever seen a clean and clear pleasant 
countenance shine forth from a dirty face of an in- 
nocent little boy or girl? 

But to the direct question of the law, to pre- 
serve ourselves we must be temperate, and to be 
temperate we must have the knowledge to know 
how, and when we once know, we must have the 
courage and determination, forbearance and re- 
sistance, to do it. Experience testifies that with- 
out temperance there is no keeping the law to 
preserve us, for if we are not -■ temperate 
in eating, we will overdo the digestive 
organs of our body and if we destroy 
them or any one of them the penalty is suffering 
in the body. If we are not temperate in drinking, 
the penalty is the same; and in drinking intoxi- 



175 

eating drinks we suffer that penalty ourselves and 
are liable to suffer many other things. Cleanli- 
ness is the first duty and any one that gets drunk 
absolutely denies the law, for no one can get 
drunk and keep their body (person) clean, and 
they can not keep their clothes clean nor their 
words nor their ways, nor their acts nor then- 
deeds, and the facts are that no one will have in- 
spection by Mr. Truth or Mr. Wisdom, Mr. 
Knowledge, Mr. Conscience, Mr. Caution, or Mr. 
Mind, in a drunken condition. So says Ex- 
perience. 

There are many more chapters in this work of 
Observation on Thought's lecture, and if you will 
only read and follow him and take heed to what 
you have seen, it will teach you the comfort and 
happiness that abounds in keeping the law of self- 
preservation, and save you the horrors and trou- 
ble of the penalties for breaking it. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 



(Mr. Conscience lectures on the moral law.) 
Mr. Conscience says whether we inherit this 
law or whether we have been taught it, there is 
one thing absolutely sure, we must cultivate it 
to get its benefits. The seed may be volunteers 
or they may have been planted, but it is some- 
thing that can be choked out, and to cultivate 
that law does not in the least make the law any 
better, but to keep that law, the improvement is 
made in us. Mr. Conscience says that there is 
something in us that moves and calls our atten- 
tion to every harsh word we go to speak and 
everything we go to do that we are not fully de- 
cided on — that little thing, whatever it is, will 
suggest to do it or not to do it, though sometimes 
we do not heed it, and sometimes we ignore it 
altogether; but it is always there. Sometimes we 
go to do a thing, and that feeling runs up into our 
thoughts, and in a mild way tells us not to do it. 
Experience says that as often as we disobey that 
little feeling, which arises in our minds', just so 
often we have made a bad bargain or done wrong, 
and Experience says again that oftentimes we 
have seen our fellow creatures in trouble, and 
that little thing, whatever it is, tells us in un- 
mistakable terms that we ought in some way to 
assist them, But we neglect it, and in such cases 



177 

we continue to have that little thought or feeling 
that we have not done right, and while that little 
thought never fails to suggest, though we do not 
respond, yet it is submissive and may be put 
aside, so far as acting under its dictates is con- 
cerned. But it goes and comes in humility, and is 
put aside through a passion, or we may put it 
aside through prejudice or malice or envy, know- 
ing at the same time we ought not to do it ; what- 
ever the cause is, it returns, and the reason it re- 
turns is that it is a part of us, and we can't put it 
away from us. But as often as we obey it, the 
result is, Exeprience says, that it never fails to 
bring gladness to our hearts. But there is, Mr. 
Wisdom says, a premonition of feeling that we 
may be forewarned, and that no doubt is true ; but 
Experience says this little thought, that is born 
within us, underlies that feeling, and we cannot 
control it, but if we will keep the moral law and 
study the dictates of this little thought, or what- 
ever it is, we must have courage and have the will 
to execute its demands. It has no power of its 
own, it only suggests the way, and its mandates 
are put in force by the action of our own selves, 
and common reason is the interperter of the 
moral law. That always dictates safely, and its 
power is demonstrated in the acts and deeds for 
good to them that know it, love it, and obey it, 
and our own moral nature blooms therein. To 
keep the moral law with a pure motive for good, 
makes our social feature with our fellow creatures 



178 

safe, and is a great incentive to action in better 
things, and its duties well performed lead us to 
action in doing to and for our fellow beings, as 
we under the circumstances would want them to 
do for us. While that duty is hard to perform, 
and Experience says that we cannot do so unless 
we are in possession of that fraternal spirit of 
love for our fellow creatures that overshadows 
each others' faults, our failure to keep this, the 
moral law, necessitates the civil law that in ef- 
fect provides the penalty for the breakers of this 
law and to defend and protect its keepers. If the 
civil law is just, there is no condemnation in it to 
them that love and keep the moral law. The dying 
sounds of all civilized nations, which have lost 
their power, echo back and say for our own safety,, 
love and obey the Moral law. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

Mr. Mind's lecture on the civil law as I read it 
in the book of Observation, says, the civil law in 
a republic like ours is the mind or the will of the 
people, by agreement or covenant, expressed in 
writing, and they have on their oath or affirma- 
tion agreed to obey and abide by and protect that 
agreement or law; and to confirm that law they 
iave attached a penalty, and in equal justice to all, 
that penalty must be inflicted, if the law is dis- 
obeyed, and therefore if the agreement or law is 
just, it must be made so as it will condemn the 
wrong and protect the right. No law is just that 
favors one industry and is detrimental to another. 
Any law that condemns and does not protect is 
not well balanced. All well balanced laws are 
formed in well balanced minds, and when 
such is not the case, they lose their orig- 
inal respect and force, and the only force 
and power the law has is the combined 
agreement of the people that make it, and the 
makers of our law are the people and they ex- 
press their will by the use of the ballot. Through 
their representatives they write the contract that 
all are to abide by, and when the representatives 
fail to do that as instructed, it is a misappropria- 
tion of confidence. Therefore the law delves its 
power from you, for the reason you have agreed 



180 

to uphold the thing you helped to make, and so 
long as each individual has enough honor in him 
to stand by his agreement that he has made him- 
self, or accepted from custom delivered from par- 
ent to child, the law is honorable and can be en- 
forced, and so long as there is a majority or 
enough to enforce it, it will have its power. You 
have a pre-emtory right to express your will, and 
whether you exercise that right or not, is with 
you, but whether you do or not, the law is going 
to be made, and you are going to have to abide 
by it. 

Therefore, it is the duty of each and every citi- 
zen to study well the needs of himself and his 
fellow creatures, and at the same time study the 
things we don't need, that are written in our 
statutes that become law, that are supposed to be 
the will of the people. If all the subjects of the 
law were well acquainted with and well informed 
on all the laws we now have, it might be that they 
would find all of them are not the expressed will 
of the people. Therefore, under our form of gov- 
ernment, if we would perpetuate our liberty and 
freedom and hand it down to our posterity, as se- 
cured for us by our foreparents, we should be 
careful how we use the ballot. 



CHAPTER L. 



(By authority of Mr. Truth, Wisdom lectures oil 
the divine law.) 
Mr. Wisdom says that in doing unto others as 
we would have them do unto us, thereby 
hangs this law and the prophets. If the divine 
law is hinged on this principle, we at once recog- 
nize the fact that we are not capacitated to keep 
this, the divine law, to the letter and the spirit, 
within ourselves. Therefore, Mr. Wisdom says 
that we must be supplied with another spirit, that 
will over-rule our natural spirit; that our natural 
spirit is not inclined to put in action and really 
do that which we would that others would do for 
us, for our natural spirit or inclination is to shun 
duties — especially that which is to be done for 
others. Then that which we would shun is that 
which we don't love to do; therefore we must 
have a love for that which we want to do. Then 
if we don't love and keep the divine law, the 
only decision that can truthfully be rendered is, 
that we don't like it and refuse to keep it. And 
if we can get in possession of that spirit that will 
and can overrule our natural spirit or inclina- 
tion, that will inspire within us a love for this 
the divine law, then we have a motive within 
us for keeping this law and that motive is, that 
we were loved and if we were loved, by whom 



182 

were we loved. Mr. Wisdom says we were loved 
by the giver of that law, and for that love for 
us the law was given. And if love to us brought 
this law, it had a purpose, and that purpose was 
for us to be governed by it for our own good — 
not for the good of the one that gave it, for it 
was given to us. A number of Wisdom's agents 
claim that this, the divine law, is of no effect, 
and deny its author, but none of them can prove 
it was not given by inspiration. Therefore to 
all nations, it is a gift. Volume after volume 
of the civil or common law, was given to us 
by our foreparents, and furnishes proof of who 
made it, but where is the proof of the one who 
made the divine law? In one respect, it is like 
all other laws, the proof of its maker, is in the 
law itself, and as we cannot deny the fact that 
the civil or common lav/ was made, we must ad- 
mit that it had a creator. Then it follows that 
if the divine law is in existence, it had a creator, 
and if you cannot prove who the creator was, 
you cannot prove its creator was not God. God 
is the creator of the divine law, and the giver 
of it to us, and you cannot prove he was not. 
' You cannot even prove there was no Moses, by 
whom the law was first given. You cannot prove 
that there was no Pharoah, you cannot prove 
there was no Israel, you cannot prove there was 
no Joseph, you cannot prove there was no King 
David, you cannot prove there was no King 
Solomon, you cannot prove there was no Herod, 



183 

you cannot prove there was no Pilot, you can- 
not prove there was no Christ, you cannot prove 
there were no prophets and apostles, you cannot 
prove there was no King George, and many other 
kings' names that we have on record. And, to 
our own country, you cannot prove there was 
no Columbus, you cannot prove there was no 
George Washington. Then if we cannot prove 
that such characters never did exist, how can 
we prove that the works in them were not done, 
as represented by the same authority that they 
did at one time exist. And if we prove that the 
characters mentioned did not exist, it betrays the 
fact that the authority of the proof did not ex- 
ist, for the reason that there is no truth in the 
history of the past, and if we can prove there is 
no truth in the history of the past, we can also 
prove that civilization and education has been 
a failure; and if we can prove that we can also 
prove that civilization and education are of no 
necessity. For if the history handed down to 
us from century to century is not at least found- 
ed on the truth, is it not a fact that from our 
age only will pass down to our posterity, the 
truth of the past? Therefore, if the first law, 
the law of self-preservation, has a penalty at- 
tached to it for its disobedience, and by our own 
experience we know it has ; when we violate it in 
any way, we may and do by our own knowledge 
expect the penalty inflicted; and for the uphold- 
ing of the moral law, the civil or common law 



184 

is created; hence the penalty of the civil law is 
encouched in the punishment inflicted by the force 
of the civil law, for the civil law was created to 
uphold and protect the moral law ; and if all have 
the same rights and privileges and stand equal it 
begets love and brotherhood, and that begets re- 
spect and admiration for the law. From that 
source the law is vitalized and made strong, and 
to abide by that law creates a social relationship 
that is made stronger, and by this strength our 
institutions are upheld, and upholding them sug- 
gests the question why do we want them up- 
held? Because in them lies our safety to protect 
ourselves, and our property. Did not the culti- 
vation of the principles by our foreparents of the 
moral law, give us the inherent right to expect 
f ' the protection and benefits of the civil law? Then 
if we expect to be benefited by a law that we 
make and perpetuate and hand down to our pos- 
terity, then can we say to them that we are more 
truthful than our predecessors, or have we any 
reasonable grounds to say that we are more 
truthful than they? If not, their record is in 
fact correct, and if so, there is a creator. And if 
there is a creator of the laws, is it not essentially 
true that each law is a reference to its creator? 
And if that be true, the Creator of all things 
created the divine law, and if we admit the pen- 
alties of ours, the civil law, is right, how shall we 
intelligently deny the penalties of the divine law, 
seeing the civil law is based on the laws of deity. 



185 

If we believe the divine law is a farce, our civil 
law, being imitative of the divine law, 
then it follows that our boasted civilization 
is a "Fake," and to admit that would be 
equal to eliminating all truth of our position as 
a people and as a nation. And the proof of the 
reality of the divine law T is to us that the crea- 
ture is not greater than its creator, and the 
Creator creating the divine law is the real reason 
we base our law on the principles of the divine 
law. It is because we are not now and never 
will be able to produce one that is better. An- 
other proof of the divine law is, if we admit that 
it is just to punish by death, for the crime com- 
mitted against our law, shall we deny the justice 
of death under the divine law. As death came 
by violation of the law, and ever since man was 
created, death itself has been its own witness, 
visible before our own eyes, and we knowdng that 
in the divine law its teaching is true, even unto 
and in death, what reasons have we to believe 
that its teachings are not true after death? Hence 
the proof of its pre-eminence and superiority 
over all other laws is, we know by observation 
and experience, that if we keep and do not vio- 
late the divine law, that we not only keep all 
other laws, but we are not subject to the con- 
demnation of them, unless falsely charged (and 
the greatness of our civilization should be a 
guarantee against that), and we should be able 
to determine the justice of any common case. 



186 

Mr. Wisdom says, in conclusion, that there is a 
lifetime of study in this lecture, but the one he 
has doing the writing is not able to bring out 
is undeniable, even to eliminate the use of the 
divine law, the Bible. While that is in itself 
all the facts, but that others had written and 
would continue to write them, and concluded by 
admonishing all to give it more thought, as in 
the keeping of this law, the success of our insti- 
tutions depended for their success or downfall. 



CHAPTER LI. 



Now in conclusion, our last effort will be to 
prove there is a Creator, a God, and that He 
created the universe, and that the evidence of it 
sufficient proof, yet the evidence of its existence 
is sufficient proof without the use of the Bible. 
And to start with, the definition of Geology im- 
plies the term formation and structure, and its 
minerals and substances generally, its constitu- 
tion and physical features. Now we all admit, 
from a geological standpoint, the earth was 
formed, and it was formed out of substance, mat- 
ter, or whatever it may be. And we also know 
that it is formed systematically, and we know 
that it is arranged so thoroughly and completely 
that it furnishes the most beautiful study of 
mankind. All manner of creeping things were 
also formed, the fish of the sea, the fowls of the 
air, and everything that was made being made 
after its own order. The trees of the forest, each 
after their kind, and the works of nature are be- 
fore our eyes, and though we may be unlearned, 
yet the attraction of its beauty arrests our at- 
tention, and we may not understand the reason 
why it is beautiful to us, yet it is. Then there is 
a perfectly arranged system of mountains, and 
along beside them the beautiful valleys, and the 
beautiful waters that roll toward the sea, and 



188 

the woodlands interwoven with the wild vines, 
that shed forth their fruit at the proper season 
of each year. The intermingling of the sweet 
songs of the birds, that flit from tree to tree, and 
the beast of its forest roams with glee from val- 
ley to mountain, and from mountain to valley, 
in their nature enjoying their creation, and the 
creation of their possessions. Then the fields, 
where the axman has felled the forest and there 
sows and reaps his food, but not destroying the 
beauty at all, the bloom of the plants and the 
furrows in the earth not only furnish another 
beauty, instead of the original, but also a field 
of' thought. We might go on and describe front 
the least to the greatest of all things that are con- 
tained in the universe, and then when we stopped 
to think about it, we would be compelled to say 
its here, it has been formed or created, for we 
know it is here in existence, and that brings us 
back to where we started. Who made it, who 
created it, who arranged the plan, the system? 
Who would, in the light of our civilization, who 
can say, that there is no Creator, that there is 
no God? Did this world just jump into exis- 
tence by mere chance? Did it just happen to 
form into a perfectly arranged system with the 
tides of the great waters to move to and fro, and 
the waters of the rivers to roll to the ocean, and 
did it just by chance happen that the mountains 
formed themselves into chains, and the valleys 
just happened to be fixed in their beautiful 



189 

shape? Was it by chance that the forest was 
filled with the beautiful fowls, flying from 
branch to branch, and did it just happen by 
chance that the cattle and all the beast of the 
hills and valleys just jumped into existence, even 
just two of a kind; whether we be learned or un- 
learned, does that look reasonable? Is there 
anything we ever saw, felt or had any knowl- 
edge of, that furnished any proof that we could 
even form any imaginary reason to believe that 
all this world and all of its nature, all of its pro- 
ducts just jumped into existence, or that with- 
out any plans, or thought, even if it was thous- 
ands of years forming, or whether it was created 
in six days? No matter about its composition, 
whether it be substance matter, carbon or what- 
ever it was, did that also just happen to form into 
existence, and did space and the air we breathe, 
just happen to get between the sun, moon and 
the stars and the earth on which we live? Or 
was it arranged by some power, the Creator, the 
God, or was it by chance that the clouds form 
and pass over our heads, shooting forth their 
lightnings and the thunders roll from pole to 
pole. Did it just happen to be? No, where is 
the one who is learned, that would say there is no 
God, explain the system and the plans by which 
all of those things were perfectly arranged, and 
could explain all the wherefores and why it was 
so? Adas, ask the same one, out of all the things 
formed that have been made by man, to point out 



190 

one single thing that ever took its form or its 
shape, by chance, that just happened. No, it 
was not created with a creator. All reason, 
all of our observation, all of our experience, all 
of our power of sight we have, say there it not a 
building, a mansion, a cottage that was built, 
made or created; no field, no improvement, none 
whatever, that just jumped into existence by 
chance. And the human anatomy, its perfect 
working system, doubtless the greatest piece of 
mechanism known to the human race, with all 
the organs of the body serving a separate and 
distinct function, though corresponding one to 
the other; and in our formation, did that happen 
by chance, and by chance form the power of 
regeneration to perpetuate the system, for thous- 
ands and thousands of years? From what 
grounds or what reason can we form such a con- 
clusion, that all of this just happened? To ad- 
mit that all of this could be true, that the matter 
or substance, is so constituted that it would and 
could and does form and perpetuate itself, who 
created the substance, who created the matter, 
who gave it form, who gave it its physical fea- 
tures? Did they just happen, and if there is no 
creator, no God, and all of these things just form- 
ed, and if all just happened to form, can you go 
away back and give some reason why all this had 
a certain time to form into its being, its shape, 
and its system of works. Let the time be six 
days, or a million years, give some reason why 



191 

just at that time, let it be long or short, why at 
a certain specific time, did all this happen; and if 
it was by chance that the world was created with- 
out a Creator, a God, why by chance does it not 
go out of existence? Why can't we, with all the 
power we have destroy one drop of water? Why 
can't we destroy one grain of sand? We can 
change water into steam, and we can change 
dirt into ashes, as the green tree dies and decays, 
yet the substance still exists. Tell why we have 
day and night. You can tell us the earth re- 
volves around the sun, but can you prove it just 
happened that way. No, and neither can you 
prove there is no God. Can you prove there is 
now, or at any other time that any thing was 
created without a creator? No, but every crea- 
ture that is and every one that has been created 
is an evidence that there is a Creator, a God. If 
there is no Creator of the natural things that be, 
that were created, who created the natural sys- 
tem by which nature works? Did it also come 
by chance? The tide of the sea has a regular 
motion. Can you explain that? You can give 
the geographical meaning and tell us why it 
moves to and fro, but who laid the plan, who laid 
the foundation. When it happened to form into 
existence, why did it happen to arrange itself in 
the position that it is in now? No wonder the 
wise man said "the fool in his heart said there is 
no God," for if this world and all that is in it just 
happened to form into existence, and happened 



192 

just at a certain age or in ages, is it not a wonder 
that something has not happened or chanced to 
form since man has happened to form into the 
present existence, so he would have been permit- 
ted to see it? And if it did just form into its 
present being, is it not strange that something 
did not by chance come into existence since man 
has been on the earth, so we could have seen it ? 
or left some record of it, so there would have 
been some proof that could have been furnished 
us, at least in the last nineteen hundred years? 
The only reason that something did not happen 
to furnish the proof was, there was nothing to 
happen of the kind, for the reason that there is a 
Creator, a God, that created all things, and by 
Him was all things made, and O, my dear reader 
of this little book, be not deluded by the wicked- 
ness of this world, to believe there is no God. 
(The End.) 



LBJa'll 













A Controversy Between 


Truth and Falsehood 








C 


>n the Train of Life 








By James W. Smith 

Decatur, Mississippi. 









4 



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